1 Misplaced Sukima
by WillieG.R
Summary: Thanks to a mistake, two boys from the outside world get stuck in Gensokyo. Along side the many powerful and wonderful characters that live there, watch as these two characters survive and grow in, for those to boys, is a completely insane new world. This has been completely updated with better grammar and has been made less confusing.
1. Chapter 1

It's the crack of dawn; the sun is just rising, lighting the land with its warm light as it does. Two girls run toward a small forest, stopping by the entrance.

One of the girls asks "Renko, this is the place, right?"

Holding on to her hat, Renko looks around and spots a red ribbon on a branch and smiles.

"Yes, Mary, this is the place" she replies pointing at the ribbon.

The blond girl squeals with excitement "aren't you excited? We're finally going into Gensokyo!"

Trying to hide her excitement, Renko replies as calmly as she can. "Yes, yes, I know. I can't wait! What wonders are in store for us? What will we see?"

By now, Renko is unable to hide her excitement, and Maribel only makes it worse by joining in, adding to that excitement. They both sit on a bench under the tree and open a paper containing a letter with instructions:

"Dear friends,

I have managed to "convince" one of my friends to open up a portal to Gensokyo, more specifically, here to my shrine. The portal will only accept two humans to prevent any unwanted infiltrations. Just be quick about it and enter as soon as you see it. It's going to open by one of the benches near the entrance to the forest. Look for a tree with a red ribbon. The portal will open there early in the morning around 7. DON'T MISS IT!

Your friend

The Beautiful and Sweet Shrine Maiden of Paradise, Reimu Hakurei"

They close the letter and wait for the portal to open with anticipation.

* * *

At the Yakumo residence at Mayohiga, Yukari has had too much sake and is blabbing complete nonsense and laughing at random while sitting on the living room floor.

"Lady Yukari, please calm down!" says Ran, who is trying to teach Chen some math in the kitchen at the time.

Ran suddenly looks at the clock; it's 8:12AM.

She opens her eyes wide and gasps violently and shouts "lady Yukari, lady Yukari!"

Yukari tilts her head to Ran's direction asking "whet ish ith...? Pffft, hahaha... Ran."

"Lady Yukari, you didn't forget your promise, right?" desperately asks Ran.

Yukari stops laughing, thinks for a moment then snaps her fingers, saying "ahh yeah~... I waz zupposed to open a ghate for the two heeumanz" and with that, she falls asleep.

Ran desperately shouts "lady Yukari... the gap for the humans!"

Yukari waves her arms around in an erratic fashion saying "I already opened it... let me sleep, okay?"

Ran looks outside while Chen still counts numbers with her fingers at the kitchen, and thinks to herself "_I hope she didn't open it somewhere dangerous..._*sigh*", then heads back to the kitchen table to continue with Chen's studies.

* * *

Back at the park in the outside world, some people are already coming by the forest, some jogging, others just reading the paper by the benches.

Renko and Maribel look at each other very disappointed, and then Renko sighs loudly and says "I think... they must have forgotten."

Just as they were about to give up, they hear a strange noise. A weird black oval portal with eyes inside has appeared on a tree two benches away from the one they are.

They notice the two red ribbons on the portal edges and Renko shouts "MARY! There it is!"

Maribel gasps and they both start running toward the portal as fast as possible.

They are just about to reach the portal, when two boys pop suddenly from behind the tree that's just before the gap.

The two girls try to stop in time, just as one of the boys starts posing and saying loudly "see? The ladies come running when they see me..."

The other boy sighs and slaps his forehead, but is suddenly knocked back by his friend.

The two girls have just crashed against the boy, who in turn knocks his friend back, and all four fall on to the ground.

When Renko and Maribel get up apologizing, they realize the two boys aren't there anymore, and with a loud "**uh oh**" both girls realize they just sent two boys into Gensokyo by accident.

At the Hakurei Shrine, Reimu is pacing back and forth, grumbling, while Marisa sits by the shrine's porch calmly sipping on some tea and eating some cookies.

"She FORGOT!" shouts Reimu, then continues "I am sure she's sleeping right about now. Oh~, when I get my hands on her I'm going to-"

"Relax, ze." calmly says Marisa.

She takes another bite of a rice cookie and continues "you know Sukima. She's probably waiting for you to get all worked up, just to come through at the very last possible moment."

Reimu takes a deep breath then looks back at Marisa and says "you're right. She's probably opened the gap by now... right?"

Suddenly, they hear two voices screaming not too far away, to which Reimu face palms hard, grumbling "what a PA~IN!"

* * *

The gap had opened just at the edge of the mountain where the shrine is, and the two boys are now falling to the trees below.

"What the hell just happen~!" shouts the boasting muscled boy.

The other boy calmly looks down as they rapidly fall to the ground and shouts "KYO! Under you; use that branch as a trampoline!"

Kyo falls on the middle of a tree branch where the branch bends down and slightly cracks just as he jumps and uses the next branch slightly above to spin around, then lets it go to land softly on a lower branch, then looks around for his friend whispering to himself "dammit, his body couldn't take this kind of impact..." then shouts "AIL! Anilan, where are you!"

A bit winded, Ail comes out from under a bush, his face and left arm full of cuts and blood all over, but still able to walk, he calmly replies "I'm here. I used the smaller branches to soften my fall and was able to grab one branch before I landed. I see that you are well."

Both laugh for a bit, and then as he comes down from the tree Kyo asks "where the hell are we?"

Ail just shrugs, then suddenly a large wolf demon appears right in front of them ominously saying "well, well! Two tasty looking humans ready for me to eat. How fortunate. Last night's hunt was terrible for me so I am quite hungry."

Kyo's face fills with panic; however Ail just calmly looks back at the large wolf-like creature.

"I-It can talk... Ail that thing just talked" says the panicked Kyo.

Ail calmly nods and replies "yes, I can see that... but you should call him a wolf demon."

The demon stares at Ail and says "how polite you are to your predator, little human. Perhaps I'll kill you quickly and painlessly"

Ail calmly replies "you are most welcome, however, I don't recall saying you were going to kill me at all."

"Ail! Don't encourage it!" shouts Kyo.

At that very moment, the wolf demon charges Ail. Kyo freezes in place and blocks his eyes with his forearms, calling his friend's name.

At that moment, Ail moves to avoid the wolf's jaws at the last second, then kicks it down with all his strength.

Kyo opens his eyes and is left in awe, however celebrations will have to wait as the wolf quickly gets up and backs away, angrily snarling and shouting "you INSOLENT human. How DARE you-!"

Countless sealing talismans and green colored stars fall on top of the wolf, blasting it and knocking it down.

Kyo, very surprised, and Ail, with an impressed look in his face, look up and see a shrine maiden wearing a red and white outfit with detached sleeves, and a large red bow on her black hair, next to a blonde girl wearing black and white clothes and a black witch hat with a white ribbon on it flying just above them.

"Are you two alright?" asks the shrine maiden.

Ail quietly nods while Kyo stares at them both, then unblinking and mindlessly asks "g-girls flying? Where the hell are we!?"

* * *

Back at the shrine, Ail has his wounds treated and properly bandaged and now both he and Kyo are kneeling inside the shrine right next to a short table with two cups of tea next to them.

The shrine maiden looks a little mad, while the witch-girl would just stare at the two boys curiously.

"She's not coming... oh, ho-ho, but just you wait, I'm going to throttle her when she comes." says the maiden furiously.

The witch simply says "Da~ze" with a childish smirk on her face, then Ail coughs, breaking the awkward silence from his part and introduces himself.

"My name is Anilan Inmodo Leuch; but please call me Ail, and this is my friend, Ka-"

Kyo glares at Ail before he continues, and the boy just looks back and awkwardly smiles, then continues "...my friend, Kyo. May I ask where are we?"

The shrine maiden calms down, takes a deep breath and sighs, then says "sorry... I forgot you're not from around here. My name is Reimu Hakurei, and this is Marisa Kirisame."

Ail politely bows, Kyo hesitantly follows his friend's lead.

Reimu continues "you are in the Harkurei Shrine, in the land of Gensokyo."

Kyo springs up asking "Gensokyo! Where the hell is that? You-you made the name up... this is a trick this-"

As his friend keeps on elaborating, Ail feels a deep sense of nostalgia, and for a moment he stares blankly at the floor, then lifts up his head and says "so we fell into a portal after all."

The other three look at him as he continues "those two girls that bumped on us were trying to get to a portal after all. A portal _we_ took by mistake."

Reimu's eyes open wide as she grabs Ail by his shoulders and violently shakes him asking "what about those two girls! Where are they!?"

Ail desperately shouts "calm down, miss!" and after Reimu stops shaking him he continues "yes, there were two girls before. One had black hair and wore a black hat, had a tie and a white shirt, and the other wore a purple dress, and a puffy white hat on her blonde hair. They were running so fast... when they bumped on us, they must've sent us through a portal by accident."

Reimu blankly smiles and thinks to herself "she opened the portal somewhere else... murder-murder-murder-murder"

"That's Sukima for you, ze!" says Marisa while shrugging.

Reimu glares at Marisa, her eyes twinkling with murder, so Marisa wisely shuts up and sips on her tea while looking elsewhere.

Kyo finally calms down and says "well, I guess you can send us back home now, right?"

Ail feels as though his heart has been impaled by at least 12 daggers after hearing his friend say those words.

"It's not that simple" says Reimu.

Kyo face palms hard, then looks at Reimu as she continues "I had a lot of trouble convincing her to help those two girls get in. I don't think she'll help again."

Ail quietly sighs, as if great relief just came to his heart.

Kyo ponders for a moment then smiles and says "well, it's not that bad, I mean... having two cute girls like yourselves come to our rescue like that... why this could be the beginning of a beautiful friendship." As he says this, Kyo wraps his arm around Reimu's shoulder.

Ail smirks and sips on some tea, then moves two baby-steps to his right, and then suddenly Kyo is forcefully flying out the door, sliding on the ground and hitting a tree, finally coming to a full stop.

Somehow Kyo rapidly recovers and dashes back inside, but before he can complain, Reimu glares at him.

Something inside him tells him to sit down and keep quiet, and so he does.

Reimu and Marisa both stare at the boys now, to get a better look at them.

Ail has short brown unkempt hair, wears a violet t-shirt, black knee-long pants full of pockets, and brown short boots.

Kyo is very fit and has black spiky hair. He wears an unbuttoned red shirt, and under that, a white muscle shirt, long white pants and black slippers.

Ail notices Reimu staring at him and asks "what it is, Miss Reimu?"

Reimu snaps out of her trance and asks "are you... sure you're not from around here?"

Ail looks down at his tea, saying "I-I'm not... I was born outside of this world... yet-"

Kyo notices his friend is uncomfortable, so he interrupts the conversation, saying "right, right; look, the thing is we have no homes here, so..."

Reimu raises her hand to Kyo's eyes and says "you can stay here at the shrine for a few days... get settled in and all that, but you'll have to work your butts off if you want to stay here... got it!"

"YES MA'AM" shouts Kyo, placing his hand on his forehead in salute while Ail nods quietly, then a voice is heard from outside, shouting "excuse us~!" It's Ran, accompanied by Chen.

* * *

The woman has blonde hair covered by a pink hat with many talismans on it and has yellow eyes.

She wears a white and blue dress and has 9 fox tails, and Ail assumes the pointy things on her head are her fox ears.

The little girl wears a red dress with gold trimmings and pink sleeves; has brown eyes and brown hair, and wears a green mop hat.

She has a pair of black cat ears; the left one adorned with a golden earring, and has two cat tails, and very long red nails.

The moment Ran reaches the open shrine doors she sighs and tries to cover her face with her hand saying "she didn't..."

"So let me get this straight... She got completely smashed, and opened the gate without thinking..?" says Reimu with a murderous look on her face, while Ran simply looks down in shame, whispering "I'm sorry..."

Reimu smiles again, however all in the room can feel her desire to break something, however she exhales, rubs her forehead with her index finger and thumb, then says "I'll deal with her later, I suppose."

All in the room sigh with relief, then Reimu presents the visitors, speaking calmly "Ran, Chen, these are Kyo and Ail, our newest Gensokyo residents for a while."

Kyo is in shock, staring at Ran's tails and making Ran feel uncomfortable, while Ail is already stretching his hand to Chen's, saying "nice to meet you, Miss Chen", then extends his hand to Ran "nice to meet you Miss... err... Ran?"

He notices Kyo and says to Ran "please forgive him, Miss Ran. He's never seen a kitsune before... or a nekomata for that matter;" then he smiles.

Kyo composes himself and grumbles to himself "this... is going to be a long one."

Ail simply smiles, pats his friend on the shoulder and says "don't worry, we'll manage..."

And so, on the next day, their life in Gensokyo begins.

* * *

Kyo spends most of the time in the shrine, helping with many chores that Reimu "refuses" to do by herself; mostly she just sits on the shrine's porch drinking tea while the boy does all the work.

Ail helps organize here and there, then heads to down to the Human Village, where he meets:

Keine Kamishirasawa, the history teacher who wears a short sleeved white and dark-blue dress with a red ribbon around the collar, has brown eyes, and wears a peculiar hat that looks like a house with a large red ribbon on top and red glyphs inscribed around its sides.

Mystia Lorelei, the night sparrow youkai who is also known as the eel-cart lady. She wears a long-sleeve white and light-brown dress with many bird-like ornamental ribbons, has grey eyes, short pink hair under a light brown hat with a wing-like ribbon on top, has owl-like pointy ears and a pair of light-pink wings with purple highlights.

Reisen Udongein Inaba, the moon rabbit with the lunacy-inducing eyes. She wears what appears to be a business suit on top of a white shirt and a red tie with a carrot clip, and a purple skirt that somehow allows her fluffy white rabbit tail though. Her eyes are red, has long purple hair and her long rabbit ears are crumpled and seem to have buttons on the bottom.

Akyuu Hieda, chronicler of Gensokyo's history and events. She looks like a child, though her soul is much older than her body, or at least this is what she tells Ail when they first meet. She has short purple hair adorned with a flower-shaped ornament, purple eyes, and wears a long-sleeved yellow flower-patterned shirt on top of a green vest, and a shortened hakama skirt separated by a red and while laced obi.

And Mokou Fujiwara, who just happened to be near the village one day Ail went to visit Keine. She has red eyes and an amazingly long light violet hair that reaches her ankles with red and white charm-like ribbons on the side and one larger one on top. She wears a long-sleeved shirt that looks as though is burned, and dark-red overall pants decorated with paper charms that look the same as the ribbons on her hair.

Unlike his friend Kyo, Ail feels more at home with each passing day.

He'd do favors and services around town in the name of the Hakurei Shrine and get compensated with gifts of foods or money.

He also secretly donates some of the extra money at the shrine and quietly laughs at Reimu's expression every time she finds some money in the donation box.

For a week, everything goes well. They even meet:

Cirno and Daiyousei, the ice fairies from the lake. Cirno wears a short-sleeved light-pink blouse under a blue jumper dress, has aqua-colored eyes and hair, wears a large green ribbon on her head, and has 6 wings, 3 on each side, that look like large icicles.

Daiyousei has blue eyes and green hair she ties with a yellow ribbon on the side, wears a long blue dress with white trims and sleeves, and has crystal wings with golden highlights.

Alice Margatroid, the puppeteer magician who seems most uncomfortable around the two boys. She has orange eyes and short blond hair adorned with a red ribbon she places like a head-band, and wears a light-blue dress, and a white capelet with pink ribbons around her collar and waist.

From Reimu, they've heard about Aya Shameimaru, a crow tengu that's been writing about the two humans from the outside almost every day in her paper, the Bunbunmaru Newspaper.

* * *

All is well, overall; until one day:

Ail walks out of the shrine and heads to the front, shouting "Kyo, Miss Reimu, I'm heading to..."

He stops when he hears some commotion out back and goes to investigate, only to find Kyo and Reimu arguing _again_.

Apparently, Kyo has been raiding the food stores again. Ail sighs, then goes and tries to calm them down.

They stand near the storehouse, glaring at each other as Reimu shouts "If you keep eating like that, I'm gonna kick you _out_ of here, got that!"

Kyo shouts back "well, I DESERVE a little more food than you seeing as I am doing almost ALL the WORK around here, you lazy shrine maiden!"

They butt each other's faces, unblinking and ready to see who strikes first.

At that moment Ail arrives and looks as the scene, then sighs and heads toward them to see how he can calm them down, however Reimu pushes Kyo hard at that moment and knocks both boys to the ground, where very suddenly, underneath them, another portal opens up, then closed as soon as they both fall through.

Meanwhile, at the Yakumo's residence, Yukari springs up from her sleep and mutters "w-what the... maybe... I was dreaming?" then falls back on the pillow, falling asleep again in seconds.

* * *

Another portal opens in a dark damp cave and the two boys fall through, crashing hard on the rocky ground.

"Argh... that hurt" says Kyo as he stands up, then looks around and sounding annoyed asks "where are we _now_?"

Ail sits peacefully on a rock, looking up and saying "don't worry, at least we are still in Gensokyo, however it seems we stepped into some trouble."

He points up at two girls right above them. One is inside a bucket and has green hair tied into two side-ponytails and wearing a white shirt, while the other; who hangs upside-down; has short blonde hair tied up to a bun with a dark-brown ribbon and wears a black long sleeved shirt with a brown overall dress that looks like a balloon at the bottom of the dress, which seems to be tied with a yellow ribbon as well, probably to keep the skirt from riding down.

Both girls slowly lower to meet the two visitors, then the blonde one happily says, "my, my; two humans? How rare. Are you here to join the party? Everyone is welcome~!"

The green haired girl just giggles and looks over the border of her bucket.

"Well, these girls seem very friendly. A party you say?" asks Kyo, who gets shocked as soon as he looks at Ail, who sits on his knees on a small cushion while sipping on some tea, which immediately reminds Kyo of Reimu for some reason.

"What are you doing!?" asks Kyo while staring at Ail in disbelief.

Ail peacefully replies "just having a peaceful moment here. Besides, she's a spider youkai. She just wants to eat us."

The blonde woman sounds offended as she angrily says "hey, that's not nice! I don't want to eat you... yet! And my name's Yamame Kurodani, and I'd appreciate it if you remember my name!"

Kyo's heart starts beating fast as panic takes him as he shouts "and you say this so calmly! What the hell is wrong with you!? And looking closer, I think they want to attack us..."

Yamame sweats and smiles sheepishly, then says "Kisume, we've been found out!"

Kisume giggles and replies "then let's cut to the chase, Miss Yamame."

Kisume starts throwing fireballs at Kyo, who grabs some rocks and throws them at her, making her lose her aim.

"That wasn't very nice" says Yamame, to which Kyo replies "nor is trying to eat us! Ail, let's get out of here, NOW!"

Yamame and Kisume sweat as Yamame scratches the left side of her head, whispering "but we're not trying to eat you, dammit."

Ail just smiles and says "but it's so nice here. Oh~ I see. The spider and the tsurube-otoshi scare you, huh?"

Kyo, slightly annoyed, replies "well they _are_ trying to eat us!"

Annoyed, Yamame shouts "are you even listening!?"

Ail smiles as he looks at the two girls above and says "let's get rid of them, then."

With that, he shapes his hand like a gun and shouts "bang, bang, bang, bang! Pow, zap!"

Kyo is left in shock and stares blankly at his friend, thinking he's lost his mind, when suddenly both Kisume and Yamame start yelling "Ow ow ow, OU~~CH! Hey, how did you do that?" Asks Yamame as she rubs her cheek, while Kisume rubs her forehead.

Ail laughs saying "wh-wow~, I can't believe that actually worked! Hmm, I wonder..."

He points his finger at Yamame's thread and Kisume's rope and made a buzzing sound with his mouth, then both youkai fall hard on to the ground.

Ail sips some more tea, asking the girls "you two want some more?"

The two youkai have had enough. Dazed, they both lift a small white flag and slowly wave it above their heads.

Kyo is left in complete shock. He doesn't know what to say or think. He's not even sure if that boy is even Ail.

Ail laughs and gets up from the cushion while saying "I LOVE this place! Common sense makes no sense here! This is so perfect!"

Kyo thinks "_is this really Ail? Where and when... did he-? The second we landed here he changed... He's normally quiet and keeps to himself... but now..._"

Kyo notices Ail looking toward the deeper parts of the cave, and he knows that look only too well. He knows Ail wants to go in deeper, but Kyo won't have that.

Kyo crosses his arms in front of his chest, making an X with them, saying "oh no, don't you even THINK of going further in! Look, the exit is really close, so come on and forget..."

Ail looks back at Kyo, looking almost sad while saying "there's something in there... I have to go."

Kyo shouts "you IDIOT, it's probably another trap! Well FINE, whatever... I'm not going! You can go then and have your butt served to some monsters. I am going BACK to the shrine RIGHT NOW!"

And so Kyo turns his back to his friend and heads outside the cave while Ail simply whispers "then please take care, alright," then goes on deeper into the cave.

* * *

As Kyo reaches the exit and heads to what he believes was the way to the village, he mutters to himself "that idiot. Ever since we came here he's been acting differently. He's going out, having fun, meeting people... and monsters... it's like here... he's... Nah... I'm thinking too much. He'll come around, I'm sure."

What Kyo doesn't notice is the afternoon sun slowly sinking in the west, and night creeping over his head.

Soon it's very dark, half a moon already high above in the sky, and a little hungry youkai that lurks in the shadows, waiting for the right moment to attack her prey.

Kyo returns from his thoughts and realizes he is in danger and somehow senses the little youkai, however he can also see the mountain where the Hakurei Shrine is.

Hoping to get there safely, he quickens his pace, however the little youkai realizes she's been found out, and rushes along her victim.

Kyo thinks "_crap, how am I supposed to fight here! I can't use magic, dammit... but wait, what Ail said... 'Common sense makes no sense here'... Maybe if..._"

Kyo imagines himself having an extension on his arm that he could use to repel magic, and so punches blindly at the shadows, hitting the little youkai.

"KYAH!"

As if out from nowhere, a little blonde girl wearing a red ribbon on her head and a little black dress, falls on the ground rubbing her left cheek.

Angrily, the little girl asks "HE~Y, what was that for?"

Kyo nervously says "oh, I-I'm sorry little girl, I thought you were going to eat me."

The little girl gets up and giggles, then says "Is that so~!? Well I WAS going to eat you... but now my mouth is sore thanks to you, you meanie!"

Kyo is surprised and in shock and thinks to himself "_this little girl is one of those... you..youkai? What is it WITH this place?_"

The little girl begins to hover just above the ground and starts to float away with her arms extended.

Kyo realizes, for the first time, that he isn't home anymore, and so decides he needs to learn more of this world, starting with that little youkai, so he shouts "wait!" to which the little girl turns around smiling and asking "what?"

"What's your name?" asks Kyo. The little girl playfully replies "is that so~?"

Kyo apologizes again saying "sorry, I, err, forgot... my name is Kyo."

The little girl stares at Kyo for a moment, and then says "you can call me Rumia."

Kyo smiles then asks "err.. Rumia? Could... could you accompany me to the shrine? Seems you know a lot about this... err Gensokyo and I'd like to know more too..."

Kyo feels very awkward asking this, but there is no other way of getting accustomed to this new world... or so he thinks.

Rumia smiles and nods, saying "is that so~? Then please, ask away..."

As they walk toward the shrine, Rumia stars to nibble on Kyo's arm as she answers his questions... when she suddenly yells "Argh... you're bitter! Blech!"

* * *

Back at the cave, Ail is dodging the many bullets from a blonde girl with green eyes who keeps saying how jealous she is of anything Ail does. She wears an odd getup of a brown jacket with a purple and white border, and under that a black shirt and a pink sash with a blue bottom, purple and black with criss-crossed red strings hanging on the bottom edge. She also has a pink scarf tied around her neck and pink puffy arm warmers.

"Parsee" calls a tall red eyed blonde woman who has a red horn with a star on her forehead, wearing a white short-sleeved shirt with red trims at the cuffs, neck and bottom, and a dark blue translucent skirt with red highlights and trims. Her wrists and ankles are manacled with short, broken chains attached to the manacles.

"You're going to drain yourself... Go rest, I'll take care of him" continues the tall woman

The green-eyed girl puffs some air from her mouth, and then says "great, he outlasted me..! I'm SO JEALOUS! This stupid human makes me so jealous I could DIE!"

"So, miss Yuugi Hoshiguma..." says Ail as he eyes his new opponent, then continues "what do I have to do for you to let me continue to that large palace you mentioned before?"

Yuugi smiles and says "wow, you're some human. Haven't met many humans like you... except for the last two that came by some time ago... Well, how about this... since you can't use danmaku... how about... if you touch my horn... Simply touch my horn and I'll escort you to the Palace of the Earth Spirits personally. Deal?"

Casually, Ail replies "sounds easy enough. What's the catch?"

Yuugi smiles with surprise in her face as she says "very sharp, Mister Ail... I'll be using my best spells on you."

Ail, looking excited, nods and says "sounds like a lot of fun... shall we begin?"

And with those words, Yuugi raises an arm, then immediately shoots a barrage of bullets at Ail that start to bounce all around.

He has a lot of trouble dodging those, some even grazing him; then Yuugi smiles, then starts throwing large rocks at him.

Ail jumps high enough to land on one of the rocks, then jumps on the next rocks, getting closer close to Yuugi, but she catches on just in time and stops throwing the rocks.

Both opponents look at each other's eyes while smiling, and then Yuugi raises her hand and mouths some words, though Ail can't hear her speak at all.

She surrounds herself with oddly colored crystals, then even more of those crystals surround the first ones, and then, just as Ail jumps inside the opening of the second set of crystals, countless bullets materialize, right where he was standing.

Ail excitedly exclaims "that was a close one!" but quickly realizes it isn't over, and notices the first set of crystals head his way.

He can't duck or jump to safely avoid the crystals, however he starts to move as if dancing and finds an opening between the crystals, which he used to graze his way out of that mess.

As soon as all the crystals are gone, Yuugi materializes more crystals, these ones red in color.

Ail has little time to think, so as if still dancing, he gets into the first circle of crystals, stretched his arm and touches Yuugi's horn with his fingertip; with one crystal grazing his arm; but Ail does not even flinch, and as soon as the crystals vanish, Yuugi smiles widely, laughs and wraps her arm around Ail.

She gently rubs the top of his head with her fist and says "WAHAHAHAHA, I can't believe this. You are ONE crazy human... I like you."

Ail, who is being squeezed hard by Yuugi, grunts "urgh... thanks... you' pretty cool too."

"Oh, sorry" says Yuugi as she lets him go. "Well, let's go." She says, while walking further inside the cave.

Ail looks a little surprised, and noticing this, Yuugi says "I promised I'd escort you to the palace, so let's go."

Ail follows quickly, and on the way to the palace they have a little chat. Ail explains Yuugi how he got there and why he feels he has to go to the Palace, and so they arrive...

* * *

Yuugi looks up at the palace, then turns around, heading back to her home while saying "well, good luck little human. Umm... be careful in there. You might find something you might not want."

Ail nods and thanks her for escorting him there, then turns around and tries knocking on the large doors of the palace, but they open up before he can start knocking, so without thinking it twice he goes inside.

After what feels like an hour or so of walking around, he comes across a pink haired girl, who has a black headband on her head, and wears a light blue shirt with yellow heart-shaped buttons, a light pink skirt, and has a red eye with weird strings flowing from it floating over her chest. She is also holding a black two-tailed cat in her arms.

The girl looks neutrally at Ail, and then says in a calm and soft voice "welcome to the Palace of the Earth Spirits... Anilan Inmodo Leuch. My name is Satori Komeiji. Odd that I can see yoru thoughts about your name, but why are you here, I wonder? Perhaps you're looking for some treasure?"

Ail is surprised for a moment, but says nothing at all.

Satori continues to stare into his eyes, and then says "I see... so you prefer to be called Ail. Then _Ail_... why have you come?"

Ail speaks to her through his mind, thinking "_I am not sure, myself... I felt a strong impulse to come here, and I fail to understand why._"

Satori slightly smiles and says "I see... you're not from Gensokyo, and yet you've never felt more at home. You are looking for answers, are you not?"

A tear drops from Ail's eye, down to his cheek, then he nods and speaks to Satori through his mind again, saying "I have never felt more alive, and ever since I stepped into this world, the very first second, I have been doing things that would have been impossible in the world outside. I have even felt as though I am flying sometimes."

Satori widens her eyes a little, revealing her dark pink eyes as she sees distant memories in the boy's mind, and says "that's because you probably are. Sometimes fate likes to play a cruel hand. By now you should realize you are not fully human... you are half youkai... It's all in there... at the very back of your memories... all inside your heart. You remember it, but you can't grasp it."

Ail's eyes widen, his knees feel weak as he drops hard on the ground, holding his chest as if in pain, then says "so it's true..." He lowers his head and starts to sob.

Satori keeps quiet for a moment, then says "that happiness swelling inside of you gives you power, I see. Emotions are useful and annoying."

Ail raises his face, smiling so hard it looks like his teeth are taking over his entire face.

He then jumps high, then lands softly back to the ground, and in a slightly calm tone of voice he says "this is the answer to all these recent questions... the whys, the hows, they're all answered! Thank you Miss Satori!"

Saying this, he rushes to her and hugs her tightly, surprising Satori, who is already surprised by the half-human.

Not only did this human catch on to her mind reading so quickly, he wasn't appalled by her powers at all, and the fact that he enjoyed talking through his mind made Satori quite happy to be around a human for the first time in some time.

Ail steps back and says "I'm sorry Miss Satori. I guess I was overcome, heheh."

They both chuckle for a moment, but suddenly, from the darkness comes a girl with long black hair, black wings on her back covered by a white cape with starry designs inside, a green bow on her head, a white shirt with a big red eye on its chest, and a short green skirt.

He also notices she has some sort of cannon-like rod on her right arm, a rocky-like shoe on her right foot, and her left foot is surrounded by atoms.

She points her left arm at him as he backs away slowly, then asks "Satori-sama, did he hurt you!?" while summoning power to herself, holding a black orb on her left hand.

Ail can feel this power and is, for the first time since entering Gensokyo, frozen in fear.

He softly says "the power... of a black sun?"

The girl throws the black orb straight at Ail, expanding it as she did, giving him very little room to move...

* * *

To be continued...

Characters and scenario all belong to ZUN -Team Shanghai Alice-

Ail and Kyo were created by Willie G.R.

JUN 16 2009

Written by

Willie G.R.

**-Edited on MARCH 4 2010 and May 27 2013 by Willie G.R.-**


	2. Chapter 2

Ail has found out that he isn't completely human as he was suspecting, all thanks to a heart to heart chat with Satori Komeiji, however one of her pets, a hell crow, thinks of him as a threat and has just blasted him with one of her best shots.

Ail has little room to move, little time to think, and is so frightened for the first time since entering Gensokyo, that all he can think of is to duck and cover himself.

As the energy lands on him, it expands, exploding after a bit, lighting up the entire palace from inside due to the size and brightness of the blast.

After the blast, Satori, the girl with black wings, and now another girl with black cat ears, red hair made into two braids adorned with black ribbons and a black and green dress stand up; the cat girl next to Satori helping the mind reading girl get up.

They all look at the large cloud of smoke that now replaces Ail.

Satori, with concern hidden in her eyes, slowly gets closer to the smoke curtain as the cat girl angrily assaults the bird girl.

The bird girl looks at her own hand, and seemingly confused says "maybe I should have used a little less power, huh?"

The cat girl gets furious, jumps on the bird girl's back and starts to punch her head repeatedly and scratch her face while shouting "Okuu, YOU IDIOT! Look what you did to the mansion. You could have hurt Satori; what the HELL were you thinking?"

Satori looks back to her pets and says "Orin, it's alright..."

Both stop fighting and look at Satori a bit puzzled as she calmly says "he took care of that blast... although, not on purpose."

As the smoke clears, they see a round blue barrier the size of the blast Okuu had just shot.

Inside the barrier the trembling Ail continues to cover himself while Satori approaches the barrier and knocks on it, getting his attention.

He realizes he is fine and the blast has been absorbed by the barrier that now surrounds him.

The barrier vanishes in less than a second, and still in awe Ail nods, thanking Satori in his mind, but Satori calmly says "don't thank me. I didn't make that barrier;" to which Ail looks even more puzzled now.

Above ground, Yukari wakes up and springs off her bed again muttering "wah-wah? Where am I...? Oh... right..." then drops down to sleep some more.

Back underground, Utsuho Reiuji and Rin Kaenbyou; nicknamed Okuu and Orin respectively, present themselves to Ail.

"I'm really sorry about that, I thought you were trying to hurt Miss Satori" apologetically says Okuu, but Ail, who is now back to his usual calm self replies to her "it's alright, you were just protecting your master. Anyway, I better start heading back. Someone might be worried about me."

Satori looks at him as expressionless as ever and says "Kaizo Yumeda... your friend from the outside world. He's like family to you, I see... but"

"No use trying to hide that, huh?" interrupts Ail, but Satori continues "don't think so little of Reimu. She can be cold, but she's probably worried about you too."

Ail laughs and says "you're right... I shouldn't be thinking like that about her. After all, she has helped me and my friend so much."

He smiles, but then realizes there is someone right next to him.

A girl with wavy grey-greenish hair that reaches to her upper back, wearing a black hat with a yellow ribbon around it, an orange shirt with diamond-shaped blue buttons, a green skirt with light colored flower patterns and small brown boots.

She smiles as she blankly stares at Ail, so the boy smiles back and says "well, hello... I'm Ail."

Without a second though, the girl replies "I'm Koishi. Nice to meet you Mister;" then happily calls "onee-chan~, I'm home~!"

She merrily skips to where Satori is and hugs her sister, then Ail realizes she has an eye on her chest like Satori's, only it's closed and is blue in color instead of red and opened, and the strings attached to that eye make the shape of a heart at one point.

Satori smiles and pats Koishi on the head while saying "I see you have met our young friend Ail. And where have you been today?"

Koishi blankly stares at the ceiling and says "Umm... some mountain;" then she smiles at her sister and spots Okuu, who is quietly tip-toeing away.

She jumps up with her arms in the air yelling "OKUU~~!", and then grabs her left wing, making the poor bird girl writhe in pain as Koishi manages to sit on her and starts to pat her head.

Satori looks at Ail's worried and curious look and says "don't worry, she just loves Okuu that much."

Ail quietly chuckles then waves his hand at them, saying "it's time I headed back, then. It was a pleasure meeting you all. Take care."

And with that, he turns around and begins his long walk back above ground; however Orin rushes to him and grabs his shoulder, stopping him and saying "hey, hey, do you think I'd leave a friend of my master's walk around the underground alone? There are many dangerous creatures here, so I'll accompany you for a bit," and with that they both head out.

Once outside the mansion, Orin's eye sparkle as she smirks at Ail, then he smirks back saying "you want a race... don't you?"

Orin looks back at Ail and says "don't worry. I'll go easy on you."

Suddenly, they both quicken their pace and soon start running as fast as they can.

* * *

Back at the shrine, it's morning now and Kyo has just woken up.

He realizes Ail hasn't returned and panics, then starts shouting "A-AIL! CRAP, he hasn't returned! What if... what if he's-?"

The thought of his friend being hurt somewhere, or worse killed, fills his head, making his panic worsen with every passing second.

He looks all around the empty shrine, and then shouts "Reimu! Reimu, where are you!?"

He rapidly goes outside, thinking she's awake and around the shrine, but he just finds Rumia there, simply floating around with her arms extended.

She looks at him and greets him saying "well aren't you an early birdie? Reimu isn't here. She left really early saying something about a pain and scolding".

Kyo's face turns pale, then turns to Rumia and asks "but did she say anything about Ail?"

Rumia thinks for a second, then smiles and happily says "no!"

Kyo slouches, letting his arms float in the air as he stares at Rumia in total disbelief at her attitude, then suddenly shouts "can't you be a little more concerned!?"

Rumia stares back at him as he continues "my friend, Ail! I told you about him. He went into that dark cave and never returned. He could be HURT. Crap... what if he's DEAD! CRAP, I should have gone with him. He's not cut out for fighting! He probably got himself eaten!"

Rumia continues to stare at him, then after a minute she smiles widely and says to him "is that so~!?"

Kyo starts banging his head in anger, then runs to the gate, but Rumia stops him and shouts "HEY WAIT! Reimu left this note for you."

Kyo takes the note from Rumia saying "you COULD have told me about this sooner, you know!"

Rumia flies up to the sky, away from Kyo's grasp and asks "is that so~?"

Kyo stares up at her, and sounding gravely annoyed he says "that's getting REALLY annoying little one!", then he opens the piece of paper while Rumia repeats "is that so~?"

Kyo does his best to ignore her as he read the note from Reimu:

"Just calm down, shut up, and do your chores. I'll be back with Ail later".

Kyo eats the note in a rage and shouts "oh sure; by that she meant me to do HER chores!"

He stomps on the ground, then stops, blows a puff of air to his hair, grabs a broom that just happen to be right beside him, and stars to quietly sweep leaves from the shrine grounds.

Rumia covers herself in darkness and floats around the shrine repeating "is that so~?" every few minutes, which in turn annoys Kyo some more each time.

* * *

Back underground, Ail and Orin are passing by The Former Streets of Hell, where Yuugi is drinking sake while resting on the roof of one of the houses.

Ail waves as he and Orin zip by and quickly says "hi Yuugi-bye Yuugi"

The large oni sits up, quietly waves, drinks some more sake, says "that's human's crazy", and then she drops back on her back.

Soon after they are clear of the city they are by Parsee's bridge, where she's walking by the very middle of said bridge when both Orin and Ail zip past her with a quick "hey Parsee" by the boy.

She quickly looks back, her green eyes lighting up as she says "they are so fast..."

She turns around and starts walking again, and upon reaching the end of the bridge she stops and looks around, then screams "WHY CAN'T I BE FAST!?"

After crossing, they both slow down a bit as they now have to climb to reach the last level of the underground.

Orin chuckles, waves her fingers, exposing her long claws, then says "cat-claws" and looks at Ail with a mischievous smile.

She is shocked as she sees him climbing so easily and quickly, then he stops for a moment, turns his head to her, then says "sticky hands".

They both climb as fast as they can, and by the time they reach the top, they are a little winded.

Orin breathes heavily for a moment, then says "okay... a few... second of... rest... then we go... for the exit."

Ail, also breathing heavily merely nods, and for about five seconds they rest, then suddenly look at each other and run toward the exit.

They zip past Yamame, who comes down a bit too late and exclaims "who... what were THOSE!?"

By now there are only a few feet to the exit, and right then, just as Ail is about to claim victory, Kisume appears out of nowhere, getting in Ail's way, and as to not crash with her the boy jumps, losing his momentum and giving Orin the chance to win.

Outside the cave, sounding quite winded, Ail says "that... was... you... got lucky!"

Orin, a bit winded too, replies "that's...wah-what you call... a handicap" then winks.

After catching their breaths they hear grumbling in the distance. It's Reimu, complaining about having to pick up Ail from such a dark place.

"Geez, such a pain these two boys... eh?" grumbles Reimu as she slowly gets closer to the underground cave, however she realizes that both Orin and Ail are already outside, and looking at her by the cave's entrance with curious looks on them.

After bonking his head with her gohei several time, Reimu asks "so Ail, what did you go to the Palace for?"

Ail rubs his head and answers "I was drawn to that place... and it was well worth it!", then smiles as he straightens out.

* * *

Reimu waves her hand as she lightly smiles and says "thanks for taking care of him, Orin."

Orin quickly replies "no problem, sis", then she looks at Ail, smirks, and said "hey bro, if you're looking for a rematch, you know where to find me", then she winks and flies back inside the cave.

Reimu lazily looks at Ail and asks "rematch? What were you two doing down there...?"

Ail smiles and says "oh, nothing; just a little race."

Reimu nods, and sounding bored she says "right~, right~... a ra- A RACE!?"

Reimu opens her eyes widely in surprise after realizing what Ail just said, then excitedly says "but you can't fly! How in the world were you racing Rin?"

Ail smirks mischievously and causally asks "wanna see?", and before Reimu could stop him, he rushes at insane speeds toward the shrine.

Reimu raises her hand and shouts "wait, WAIT! Oh well, might as well go back then."

* * *

By the time Reimu arrives to the shrine, Kyo is violently shaking Ail, yelling "you IDIOT! Do you have ANY idea how worried I was!? You could have died, and THEN what?"

Ail, dizzy and trying to stand still in one spot, tries to answer, however he only babbles and sits on the ground, waiting for the world to stop moving so much around him.

Reimu lands softly on the ground looking around the shrine and says "nice job, Kyo... I guess you earned a little extra for breakfast today."

Kyo's eyes widen in both shock and surprise, then smiles.

Ail is finally able to get up and offers to help with breakfast and Reimu accepts his help, however reminds him he gave them all quite a scare, so he gets less. Ail casually shrugs to this as he heads back inside.

During breakfast, Marisa joins in, and of course, they were expecting her to, so they had a small portion for her ready.

While eating breakfast, Ail tells them what had happened down at the Palace of the Earth Spirits and they were all quite shocked after hearing his tale.

Ail takes a sip from his soup, and then says "I am quite shocked too... I mean, I was born from human parents... right?"

While picking up the plates, and after giving it some thought, Reimu replies "well, even in the outside world, there could be mixed bloods. Think about it, youkai and humans have been alive for ages. It's possible you inherited youkai blood from an ancestor, or something."

She pauses for a moment, then says "strange that I didn't sense anything strange from you. Then again..." She stares at Kyo then says "you both are pretty strange as it is."

Kyo stands up and points at Reimu, however the shrine maiden gives him a murderous look so Kyo sits back down and keeps quiet.

Marisa laughs, then says "so you finally learned! You don't mess with THIS shrine maiden, da-ze!"

While saying this Marisa leans on Reimu's shoulder, however Reimu quickly smacks her head hard, saying "and _what_ exactly do you mean by THAT!?"

Marisa drops to the ground, rubbing her head while softly sobbing "such violence..."

* * *

At mid-day, Ail heads to town, while Kyo decides to stay behind, training.

Apparently, learning that his friend is becoming this strong makes him want to become even stronger.

Before reaching town, a little black ball gets in Ail's way, so he stops in front of it and says "let me guess... you must be Rumia, right?"

As she absorbs the darkness into her own body and becomes visible, Rumia smiles and replies "you must be Ail, Kyo's friend! Can I eat you?"

Ail scratches his head replying "no, you cannot eat me."

Rumia quickly asks "and why is that?" to which Ail replies "because if you try it, I'll have to shoot you."

Rumia blankly stares with a smile on her face and saying "is that so~? Well I'm lucky you can't shoot then."

The little girl slowly gets closer to the boy with her arms still extended, but Ail backs away a little, shapes his hands like guns then makes a "p-chou, p-chou" sound with his mouth, as if shooting one bullet with each finger, then blows in his fingers.

Rumia looks quite puzzled, and then suddenly is impacted by two invisible balls, making her fall on the ground.

She gets back up and exclaims "whoa, you weren't lying. Anyway, you don't look that tasty. See you later then." And so she flies away, covering herself up in darkness again.

Just as Ail begins to walk to town again, from out of nowhere he is knocked down by Mystia, who screams "AIL! You're alive, you're alive!"

Out of breath, Ail asks "Mystia?" trying to recover from the impact and trying to breathe, as Mystia's bone-crushing hug cuts his oxygen.

After releasing him, the night sparrow youkai accompanies Ail to the village, while he tells her of his story about what happened underground.

After entering the village, to his surprise, half the town is already waiting for his safe return, and noticing his surprise, Mystia explains "Reimu came by and told Keine that you were underground, and Keine told Mokou, who told nobody, so I told Akyuu after overhearing Keine when she told Mokou, and Akyuu spread the word around town."

Ail gets a little dizzy after imagining all that happening at once, then whispers to himself "didn't know I'd be missed this much..."

* * *

After helping around, and finishing his rounds at Keine's school, Akyuu grabs hold of Ail and pulls him to her place.

She pushes some red tea on him, sits in front of him across a table that's covered with books and scrolls, and with a strict tone of voice she says "tell me EVERYTHING that happened down there; down to the very last whisper... GO;" and without realizing he has just been kidnapped for information, he explains all that had happened down at the Palace of the earth spirits, however this time with more detail.

By the time he finishes it's almost dark, so Akyuu thanks him for the information and asks "do you want me to send someone with you to the shrine?"

Ail shakes his head and smiling, he says "no need" then waves his arm at Akyuu as she bids him farewell.

When he returns to the shrine he notices Kyo sitting quietly beside Reimu, both sitting across the table in front of two guests; one dressed like a maid.

She has short silver hair braided on each side; each braid tied by a green bow at the end, and her maid outfit is dark blue and white, matching her eyes.

The other has black bat-like wings growing from her back, red vampiric eyes and wears a pink mop hat that matches the color of her dress as well and that is tied by a red bow, and he also notices she is shorter, and looks younger than the maid. A child perhaps?

Reimu looks at Ail and says "finally, you're here. Let me properly introduce you two to Sakuya Izayoi, maid at the Scarlet Devil mansion..."

Kyo sits straight, entranced by Sakuya. All he can do, or say is a pitiful "hello" while waving his hand, while Ail bows slightly and says "good evening."

Reimu continues "and this is Remilia Scarlet, mistress of the Scarlet Devil Mansion."

Ail is quite surprised to learn the small girl in front of him was actually the mistress of a mansion.

Kyo bluntly asks "this kid is the mistress of a mansion?"

Sakuya bangs the table with her hands and loudly says "you better apologize to the Mistress RIGHT NOW!" and like a pet following the master's orders Kyo immediately bows down and says "my apologies, lady Remilia, lady Sakuya," then he bows his head one more time.

Reimu smiles and says "don't be fooled by appearances, she's actually 500 years old."

Ail immediately bows down, placing his left hand on his waist and extending his right hand saying "my apologies. That was rude of me to think less of you, Miss Remilia."

Sakuya is a bit impressed and says "my, are you some sort of nobleman or something?"

Ail sits down and says "no, but I can tell respect is demanded here."

Reimu very quietly said "great... another vampire lover" as she rubs her forehead with her index finger.

Remilia keeps quiet, and all she does is look down at her knees.

Sakuya looks worried at her mistress and asks "my Lady is everything alright?"

Remilia starts to tremble, and while still looking down she says "Sakuya... take me home... right now!"

All in the room are very surprised, and Ail feels some guilt, thinking he might have said something to offend her.

* * *

Sakuya and Remilia stand by the sliding doors, then Sakuya bows and says "well then... er, we'll be going now. Thank you for your time;" then she and Remilia fly up to the sky, heading back to the mansion.

Moments after leaving, Remilia, who is still trembling, calls "Sakuya!", then gets close to her maid as quickly as she can and strikes her behind her neck saying "take five."

Meanwhile, at the shrine Reimu yawns and stretches, then says "I'm going to sleep now. You two clean this mess up, alright?"

Ail nods then begins picking up the plates and cups from dinner. He looks at Kyo, who is smiling and staring blankly at the ceiling repeating "Sakuya~" and swooning as little hearts fly around him, popping upon reaching Kyo's head-height.

Ail thinks to himself "_guess I'm cleaning alone tonight._"

After the cleaning is done a startling sound from outside gets Ail's attention.

He goes to investigate, only to find Remilia; her red eyes glowing and her vampire teeth bare; floating ominously as she slowly flaps her wings, keeping her from touching the ground.

With a dangerous and threatening tone of voice, she says "I'm sorry; your blood smells incredible... I-I must drink _your blood_."

Ail keeps quiet. He tries to head back to the shrine, but Remilia is already blocking the entrance.

She grabs Kyo form inside, waking him up from his love trip, and throws him outside next to Ail, then threateningly says "Reimu won't help you now, humans."

Remilia closes the door behind her, apologizing again, saying "I can't take it... you blood smells so sweet... I must drink it!"

With that, she glides at great speeds straight at Ail, who is ready to dodge her attack, however Kyo grabs him just in time and pulls him away, shouting "Ail, wake up, she's really out to get us!"

Ail seems to wake up from a trance and says "so-sorry... she caught me off-guard, but I'm okay now."

Both boys stare at Remilia, waiting for her next move, but she only keeps hovering ominously above them; her red eyes glowing brighter scarlet.

She starts shooting red orbs at them from all directions, however both are able to dodge them in time, noticing the large black spots left on the ground after they explode.

Remilia angrily says "ARGH! I can't take this!", then swoops down at incredible speeds toward Ail, but at the very last moment she changes her direction and tackles Kyo, sending him flying to the shrine's storage house.

She smiles and bares her claws and says "now... nobody can save you."

Ail smirks; which infuriates Remilia who swoops down fast again, however Ail moves around using his full speed, avoiding all of Remilia's attacks.

Remilia flies back up and stares back at the boy, seemingly impressed, and then says "I see. You are quite fast for a human, but speed alone will NOT save you!"

* * *

Remilia's assault continues, forcing Ail to dodge and run away from the shrine.

Their battle wages on to the Bamboo Forest, where Remilia flies high above the tall bamboo and says "give up! You are a human, you'll just tire out. I can do this all night if I have to."

Remilia bares her teeth and swoops down, missing Ail by an inch.

The boy knows she is right. He's already starting to feel winded.

He points his hand at Remilia casually says "bang bang" but the invisible shots do nothing to her.

Remilia smiles and laughs in a twisted manner, and still baring her claws and fangs she says "you have power, but you can't use it. Let me bite you... I could turn you into a vampire. Your powers will increase a hundred fold, and I could teach you to use them... just let me drink your BLOOD!"

Ail thinks about it for a while before saying "no thanks. I'd miss the sun and swimming way too much."

Remilia screams in a rage, and then swoops down again, this time scratching his left leg with her claws as he dodges at the very last possible moment.

It's not a bad scratch, but she's getting closer to hitting home each time, and Ail is getting tired.

He points his hand at her again as he stands up, and looking annoyed Remilia says "you keep trying that... I'll just brush it off and kill you with my next blow."

Still a bit far from the battle, Kyo runs as fast as he can, following the debris left behind by Ail and Remilia's battle, and while desperately trying to reach them, he says "dammit all, why didn't he stay at the shrine!? He had a better chance there!"

Back at the Bamboo Forest, Remilia is ready to swoop down again, however she stops; realizing Ail is actually summoning enough energy to create an effective shot.

Ail laughs a little and says "come on, weren't you gonna kill me on your next attack?"

Remilia bares her fangs and claws and while screaming she swoops down again, however Ail shoots an orange orb that looks like the ones Remilia had shot before, however he missed her by an inch, but the shot explodes with so much force it lights up that part of the forest.

Remilia is surprised by this and says "you sure are full of surprises, human. If that shit had touched me I'd be in a lot of pain right now... however, you're too slow. And what's this...?"

Remilia pauses, watching Ail succumb to exhaustion, and with a triumphant smile she says "it seems you have reached your limit, human. Don't worry, since you gave me such good sport, I'll make it quick... RAH!"

Remilia swoops, bearing her fangs again and just as she is about to reach her prize Ail moves, however she uses her claws and manages to cut his chest, leaving three large gashes on him and his purple shirt torn.

Remilia licks her claws, as a child would lick her favorite flavored lollipop, contently saying "YUMM~~! It tastes better than it _smells_~!"

Remilia's cheeks turn pink as she coos and savors the blood on her claws while Ail looks at her and softly says "dammit... that's so cute. Ow, ow, I shouldn't be joking at a time like this... but that's just too cute... what to do now?"

Remilia finishes her appetizer, her eyes glow bright red as she looks down on her prey and summons a large red colored spear energy.

Ail knows that is it for him, so he simply lies down and closes his eyes, then Remilia says "well human, you fought bravely and admirably for your life, however it is time I claimed my prize. Don't worry, the pain will go away after a while."

Remilia raises the spear above her head, ready to strike Ail when suddenly Sakuya comes from behind and traps her mistress' arms with her own and says "my lady, that's enough!"

Remilia turns her head and enraged she says "Sakuya, how **DARE YOU**! Let me _go, NOW_!"

Sakuya calmly says "my lady, if you strike him now, you're life will be in danger."

Remilia looks around and spots Mystia, baring her long claws, looking angrily at her, and under Mystia is Mokou, looking dead serious, next to Keine who has various spell cards in her hand, and next to Ail is Kyo, his fist surrounded by some white energy that looks like a blade.

Remilia's eyes turn back to normal, then she starts to cry "I... I'm so sorry! I couldn't help it!"

She then turns around and embraces Sakuya, still crying and saying "his blood smells so good and was so tasty and-and-"

Sakuya smiles contently, her nose spraying out blood all over at the sight of her crying vampire and as she holds her mistress, Sakuya bows down to the group below and says "the Scarlet Mansion will pay for this boy's treatment. I deeply apologize for all the trouble."

Far above the skies, a black ball can be seen flying aimlessly and saying out loud "is that so~!?"

* * *

Kyo is furious, however, the sight of Sakuya bowing and apologizing soothes him, so he keeps quiet, then turns to Ail and shouts "you _moron_, why didn't you stay at the shrine, or tired waking Reimu up?"

Trying to laugh, Ail replies "I tried to, but Remilia blasted me all the way down the shrine stairs, heh... ugh-" and then finally collapses.

Kyo picks up Ail as Mystia flies down and pats the fainted boy on the head, looking quite concerned for him, then Mokou signals Kyo to follow her as Keine says "don't worry, he won't turn into a vampire..."

After Kyo relaxes a bit, Keine smiles and says "so, you must be Kyo. Why won't you visit town more often?"

Kyo looks at Keine and says "you must be the history teacher. Ehh... I just don't... well you're right, I should visit more... but what about Ail? He's losing a lot of blood; where are you taking us?"

Keine smiles as they walk further into the Bamboo Forest, and then says "to the best medical expert of Gensokyo, and possibly this world; Eirin Yagokoro."

They reach a large house with the words "EIENTEI" written on a plaque just outside the gates.

There is one large house next to two smaller ones, one called the Hourai Clinic, and the other simply has a bio-hazard warning sign on the door.

Seeming on edge Mokou hurriedly says "hurry up Keine."

Keine smiles and says "don't worry, don't worry."

Mystia stays with Mokou by the gate as Keine accompanies Kyo to the large house and says "Mokou has some issues with one of the inhabitants of this mansion;" to which Kyo simply nods.

The history teacher knocks on the door various times until someone answers. It's a half-asleep girl with long light-purple hair, rumpled rabbit eats, red eyes, and wearing a long white robe, rubbing her eyes as she somberly answers the door and asks "uuh~ who is it...?"

Upon noticing Ail and all the blood, she wakes up in a shock and exclaims "what the hell happened here!? Ail...! And... Who is this?"

After she asks her question, she points at Kyo, who is pointing at her and nervously asks "a-a rabbit girl? Great... is she going to try and eat us too?"

Keine shushes them both, then hurriedly says "Reisen, this is Kyo, Ail's friend; Kyo, this is Reisen the moon rabbit."

Nervously and hurriedly, Keine continues "Reisen... this is an emergency. Ail was attacked by the vampire from the Scarlet Mansion. The wound is deep; you need to wake your master, now."

Reisen hesitantly nods and goes back in to wake her master up, then leads them into the clinic after changing to her normal clothes.

A few minutes after entering the clinic, a woman with long silver hair braided at the back, dark grey eyes, a red and blue outfit adorned with constellation patterns and a nurse's cap on her head enters, looking quite peaceful, yet sleepy.

Kyo blushes and thinks "_her beauty matches that of Sakuya_."

Keine quietly explains the situation and introduces Eirin to Kyo, however introductions are cut short as Ail has already fully lost his consciousness and is turning pale, but before completely passing to darkness, Ail hears Kyo saying "if you die on me I am going to beat you up, you got that!?"

* * *

Morning at Eintei. Everything is quiet except for a few fairies flying around and playing.

Inside the clinic Ail slowly opens his eyes and quickly touches himself, realizing he's been bandaged, then thinks "_I'm... alive?_"

His shirt is next to him and after looking at it for a moment he notices the three tears on it, then he looks up to the ceiling and realizes he's not in the shrine.

Sounding groggy, he asks "wh-where am I?"

A woman's voice from inside the room says "ah, you're finally awake."

After getting up from her desk Eirin walks to Ail, allowing him to see her, then looks back at him and smiles as she says "you are one stubborn human, you know that? You lost so much blood, and you still survived a vampire attack. By the way my name is Eirin Yagokoro, nice to meet you, young man."

Ail sits up, struggling a little with the pain, then gasps and exclaims "oh, Eirin! Reisen's master, am I right? Oh, sorry... I am Anilan Inmodo Leuch, but please call me Ail!"

Eirin happily replies "why yes, Reisen's told me about you" then seriously says "and I must say, that friend of yours was quite worried about you."

Ail rubs his head and asks "so Kyo is alright, then? Good."

Eirin quickly says "him and some other friends brought you all the way here;" then walks toward some shelves at the back of the clinic.

Ail remembers what had happened after Remilia stopped attacking him, and then he smiles and says "I truly am blessed with great friends, huh?"

Eirin comes back with some medicinal tea for him and says "you sure do. Even Reimu and Marisa came by. Oh and don't worry about the bill. The maid from Scarlet paid it all. Oh and don't worry about the vampire either, I took the liberty of bottling enough of your blood to make her sick of it. You friend was against it, however as luck would have it Tewi kept him quite busy while I worked on you."

Ail just quietly listens then smiles and then chuckled a little.

Eirin giggles and heads back to her desk, saying "don't worry, you'll be out of here in no time, I just need to make sure you have enough energy to walk home."

And with that, Ail sighs and looks to his right, spotting a rabbit girl with short black hair that reaches her shoulder, has dark red eyes, and wears a pink dress and a carrot necklace around her neck starring back at him.

"Hello" calmly says Ail, and the rabbit girl extends her hand to him saying "well hello, Mister Ail. I am Tewi, nice to meet cha!"

Ail notices she's wearing something on her hand, so he extends his hand to greet her, however nothing happens.

She looks at him funny, so Ail grins and asks "missing something?"

He has the joy buzzer she was wearing in his hand now.

Tewi smirks and says "sharp, very sharp. Your friend, however, isn't... so I'm quite satisfied for today."

Kyo enters the clinic looking furious and full of bandages all over his face, shouting "don't let this demon fool you. She's the spawn from hell itself!"

Tewi puffs her cheeks saying "hey, come on now, I'm not THAT bad. I _did_ get you out of all those traps, didn't I?"

Kyo fires up and shouts loudly "well who got me _INTO_ those traps in the FIRST PLACE!?"

Eirin bangs her desk with her hands hard, then calmly yet sternly she says "we have an ill patient! Please keep your voices down!"

Kyo and Tewi lower their heads saying "**sorry**" at the same time, and Ail can't take it and starts laughing hard; so hard in fact that he forgets he has the joy-buzzer and zaps himself in the process.

* * *

Later that day, Eirin approaches Ail, and sounding impressed, she says "well, seems you are much better now... amazing recovery."

She helps him up and starts removing his old bloodied bandages and says "alright, I'll just change your bandages and you can go."

Ail smiles and nods, then Kyo gets close to Ail and asks "hey dude, since when did you get so fit?"

Ail looks confused, so Eirin removes the rest of his bandages and positions a large mirror close to the bed, where he looks at himself and realize Kyo is right, he is quite fit now.

Eirin takes a good look at him while wrapping the new bandages and sounding even more impressed she says "my, the wounds... they're almost fully healed already!"

* * *

Before Kyo and Ail head out, Eirin instructs Ail "don't forget that even if those wounds are healed, you still need to drink one of these every day for three days to recover the lost blood, alright?"

Ail takes the medicine, nods and heads outside and once outside he notices a girl with long black hair, dark brown eyes, a pink shirt with many white bows, and a long dark red skirt arguing with Mokou.

Kyo whispers "that's Kaguya Houraisan. Careful with her... she may seem sweet, but she's pretty dangerous and quite powerful to boot."

Ail simply nods and as they head to the gate, and then Kaguya and Mokou stop arguing.

Mokou ignores Kaguya and says "Ail, you're alright now. Come, Reimu asked me to escort you two to the village"

Kaguya looks at Ail, who bows slightly and says "hello, Miss. I am Ail. Pleased to meet you;" then continues onward, following Mokou.

Kaguya is surprised that he ignored her like that, and then angrily shouts "where are your _manners_!?"

Ail stops and turns around as Kaguya continues "I am Kaguya Houraisan, and I am the princess of Eintei. You better show proper respect to me, or you'll be sorry!"

Ail places his left hand on his abdomen and bows, then waves at her with a sarcastic smile as he straightens up, then turns around again to follow Mokou.

Again, Kaguya feels surprised and shouts "w-well, go on, you can go because I allow it! Besides, it's not like someone like YOU can fulfill my impossible requests! Are you listening!?"

Ail gets close to Mokou, noticing she's losing her patience, then whispers "calm down, just ignore her. It's the best thing to do whit people like her," and to this Mokou sighs and continues onward.

After arriving to the village, Ail is greeted by so many, both human and youkai, Kyo feels a bit left out, however Ail urges him to come and present himself to the village, and after being so warmly welcomed, Kyo believes, at least for that moment, that maybe Gensokyo isn't such a bad place.

Back at the shrine, Reimu, Marisa and another guest sit by the porch when the two boys return.

Reimu welcomes them both back with a smile, which surprises them a LOT, then Marisa bluntly tells them "you are very late, ze! I promised this girl I'd introduce you properly today."

She has short blonde hair, orange eyes and wears a light blue dress with pink ribbons, black boots and adorned her head with a pink headband.

Marisa smirks and says "this is Alice. Alice Margatroid. Some girl I know. Alice, these are the weirdoes I told you about, ze."

Ail and Kyo look at each other raising an eyebrow each, while Alice angrily says to Marisa "some girl you know, huh?", then Ail and Kyo bow their heads to Alice as Marisa continues "and this is her doll, Shanghai"

Marisa holds in her hands a little doll that wears a dark purple dress with matching shoes, a red bow on her long blonde hair and blue eyes.

Ail inspects the doll for a while, then says "if you hadn't said this was a doll, I would have thought she was a living being"

Alice's eyes glint after hearing Ail say that, and says "finally someone with real eyes for talent!"

She smiles at Ail, making him blush a little while Kyo keeps patting his back, smiling widely and laughing.

Reimu stares at Ail for a moment, then looking somewhat impressed she says "wow. Remilia really did some damage, huh? Sorry I wasn't there."

While Ail bows to Reimu and says "it's alright Miss Reimu," Marisa stares at the three tears on the boy's shirt and shouts "whoa" and pulls it off him, making Alice blush and cover her face with her black book.

Marisa holds the shirt, then starts passing her fingers through the tears, saying "Remi sure was out to get you, ze! You are quite lucky to be alive!"

Ail, blushing beet red, asks "can I have my shirt back, please?"

Marisa throws the shirt to Alice and says "don't worry! Alice will fix that in a second!"

Alice immediately takes the shirt off her face and protests "now WAIT just a second! What makes you think I'm going to bother fixing this?"

Marisa flips her thumb up, winks, and with a grin she says "because you're the best."

Without realizing it, Alice has already taken out her sewing set and starts patching the shirt while complaining to Marisa.

Within seconds she is done and hands over the shirt to the blushing Ail who is very impressed as he accepts is and says "this... is incredible! It looks just like new!"

Ail quickly realizes he's still shirtless and quickly puts on his shirt while still blushing.

Alice gets in a boastful mood and says "well, that's what you get from the best!"

Marisa wraps her arm around Alice saying "isn't she a blast?"

After that they have dinner, ail talking about the experience with Remilia with the others, to which Reimu suggests it is best if both boys were to train up and learn to use their abilities, in case something like that happens again.

* * *

For the next three days, right after finishing with their chores, Ail and Kyo train hard.

They are already jumping so high, they only need wings to stay afloat, and although Kyo's speed is nowhere near Ail's, he is able to summon light around his arms he can use for both defense and offense.

Ail can now float for a few seconds, however he falls down hard afterward, and is learning how to use those orbs of light Reimu calls danmaku more effectively.

On the fourth day, after finishing with the shrine's chores, both boys head to the village, however they met a most unusual woman who is floating by the gate inside a portal very similar to the description Reimu gave them of the one that got them into Gensokyo in the first place.

She has long blonde hair, purple eyes and wears a pink mop hat adorned with a red ribbon, a deep purple dress, red bows tied her hair in four different sections, and carries with her a pink parasol.

In a playful and uncaring town, the woman says "so you are the humans that got here by accident? Impressive; you're still alive."

Kyo clenches his fists, glaring at the woman, but Ail stops Kyo, steps forward and introduces himself placing his right hand on his chest and bowing his head at her while saying "my name is Ail, and this is Kyo, my friend. Are you, by any chance, Yukari Yakumo?"

Yukari opens up a fan, covering her mouth, then says "fu, fu, fu~! What a gentleman. Not many of those left. Yes, I am Yukari Yakumo. I came to see what's with all the commotion around here lately. I wasn't expecting to see you alive."

Kyo can't hold his tongue anymore and shouts "_you_ are the one that landed us here, right! Can you get us back home?"

Yukari quickly replies a simple "yes."

After a bit of waiting, Kyo demands "well? Aren't you taking us home?"

Yukari replies a quick and playful "no."

Kyo's face twists in anger as he glares at Yukari, unleashes the energy around his arms and walks slowly toward her while saying "you bitch! If you won't take me back home peacefully, then I guess I'll have to BEAT you to HELL, and _then_ force you to take me home!"

Yukari's gaze changes from playful to dangerous, and in an ominous tone she says "my, what an _insolent_ brat. And such a dirty mouth to boot."

Ail tries to hold Kyo back, but Yukari already has plans for them now, and while looking at Ail she says "you know you should really pick better friends. His insolence will cost you both."

She opens up a black portal right under their feet, making them fall in with no hope for escaping or jumping away.

Right after closing the portal, Yukari says to herself "some time with my friend and her gardener ought to be a fun little experience for them."

From behind, Reimu uses her gohei on Yukari's head while shouting "where did you send them to _this_ time!?"

* * *

After falling from a high place, Ail and Kyo get up rubbing their heads, then Ail asks "are you alright?"

Kyo, slightly annoyed replies "I'm fine, I'm fine! Where are we now? This place looks like it could be a graveyard."

Ail looks around turning a bit pale as he admires their current location. Although there is light from the sun, there is a thick mist that makes everything look gloomy and spooky, and there is a cold essence that seems to rob the two boys of their breaths.

Ail shivers for a moment, then says "I think you may be right about that."

From the far mist, a small girl with short silver hair, dark blue eyes, carrying a large sword with a flower attached to the sheath and a short sword; wearing a dark green and white dress with ghost insignias along the edges of her dress and on the breast pocket, appears with the large sword already unsheathed, and is looking at the boys menacingly while a formless spirit the same size as her floats around her.

She is followed shortly after by a much taller woman with short pink hair, maroon eyes, who is wearing a light blue mop hat with a red ghost insignia, and a light blue kimono with a dark blue trim, who looks at the boys with curiosity in her eyes.

The little girl asks in a demanding tone "who are you!? Where did you come from!?"

Before Kyo could say anything, Ail covers his mouth and shouts "my name is Ail, and this is Kyo. We were thrown here by means of a portal. We mean no ill!"

The short girl gets closer, still holding her unsheathed sword tightly on her hand.

She looks at Ail, as if inspecting him, then heads to Kyo and does the same.

She sheathes her sword again and calmly says "my name is Youmu Konpaku, and this is Princess Yuyuko Saigyouji."

Ail relaxes a little and says "it is nice to meet you. May I ask where we are?"

Kyo looks a little on edge and won't say a thing while Youmu continues "you are at Hakugyokurou, the shrine of ghosts in the Netherworld. How exactly did you get here again?"

They head toward the ghostly shrine while explaining how Yukari sent them there, and after arriving, Yuyuko, in a whimsical tone says "Youmu, you should offer our guests some tea."

Youmu, looking a bit annoyed, bows her head and says "sure... I'll be back in a moment."

Yuyuko floats to the table and sits, inviting the two humans to join in.

Ail is about to speak, but Yuyuko shushes him and gets a good look at them, then turns to Ail and says "young man, you must realize you are here for a reason," to which Ail quietly nods.

When Youmu returns, Kyo stands up and asks her "Youmu, was it? Are you strong?"

Youmu's face fills with some annoyance while replying "Kyo, is it? Yes, I am quite strong. What about it?"

Kyo unleashes the energy around his arms, then with a whimsical smile Yuyuko says "Youmu, you and this young man shall have a sparring match!"

Ail is about to stop Kyo, but Yuyuko grabs his shoulder and offers him one of the cups of tea saying "please, sit with me while we watch."

Ail nods. He understands her reasons, so he sits down and watches as Youmu and Kyo size each other up, ready to begin their match.

* * *

To be continued...

Characters and scenario belong to ZUN -Team Shanghai Alice-

Ail and Kyo were created by Willie G.R.

JUN 17 2009

Written by

Willie G.R.

**-Edited on March 8 (year?) and May 28 2013 by Willie G.R.-**


	3. Missing Letters

Roughly a week after Ail and Kyo's arrival, Reimu found a letter on the ground, near the shrine addressed to her and "The Two Boys We Sent In Accidentally."

Reimu quietly hides the letter and while Kyo and Ail do the chores she goes into her room and makes sure nobody enters accidentally, or be able to see inside.

She opens the letter and begins to quietly read:

"Dear Miss Reimu Hakurei,

This is Renko and Mary, from the outside world.

First of all, I would like to apologize. We messed up and sent two innocent boys into your world by accident.

We hope that they are well, but I thought you said the portal would open under the tree with the red ribbon, and not 75 feet away from said tree.

Mary has been a little disappointed and it's really getting me down as well. It's not like her to be so sad all the time.

I was wondering if we could try again. Maybe a positive reply from you might cheer up Mary.

She really wanted to go into Gensokyo for real, and not just through her dreams.

To the two boys,

We are truly sorry for the trouble we have caused you, and hope that you two are well.

Your families have caused mass panic around here.

Cops everywhere are looking for you two, and what's worse, the park and forest have been set off-limits due to many investigations regarding your "disappearance".

You friends,

Renko Usami and Maribel Han"

Reimu notices there is something scribbled at the back of the letter and continues to read.

"I know there has to be a reason why you can't send them back, however I cannot think of one.

Miss Reimu, can you tells us the reason? If not, I can understand.

Know that it took us a long time to get you this letter due to the guards and cops in the park and forest entrances. Here's to hoping you get this letter"

* * *

Reimu finishes reading the letter and sits in the middle of the room just thinking for a moment, then folds the letter and hides it in her closet that's full of detached sleeves and some extra clothes, including her old clothes from when she was still just starting.

She closes the closet and thinks again for a moment before heading out.

She goes to the storage house and looks inside, and notices there is a little less food in there.

She storms out of the storage house and shouts "KY~O~~!" so loud, the entire shrine trembles.

When Kyo comes by with a bored expression Reimu attacks him with insults, shouting "you bloated cow, you were eating too much again, weren't you!?"

And so another argument over the food begins.

Ail tries to stop them, but instead he intercepted a flying Kyo, then after falling they both fall inside a portal that opens up just below them.

The portal closes quickly, and Reimu; her eyes open wide, her mouth stretched wide, and her forehead turning almost blue; asks "what the hell just happened?"

She panics and as soon as Marisa lands saying "yo, Reimu, I came to play z-", Reimu grabs her by her shirt shouts "they went through another gap! You have to help me find them!"

As she says this, she's shaking Marisa back and forth quite violently.

After she's released, the witch shakes off the dizziness, slaps Reimu across the face and knocks her down to the ground, and says "calm down!"

Reimu calms down just as she gets up from the ground, then says "yes, you're right. Just calm down Reimu, it'll all be fine."

Marisa laughs and says "so you really grew attached to those two, huh? Well, no surprise there. So what have you done with them, eh? Romantic nights? 'Special' afternoons? Candle-lit-"

Before Marisa can continue, hundreds of yin-yang orbs fall on her head, burying her under a large pile of balls, then Reimu, sounding very disgusted, growls "you are just SICK, you know that?"

While Marisa slowly and dizzily gets out from under the pile of yin-yang orbs Reimu says "great, now I'll have to sweep and clean the shine by myself again~!", and then starts to cry.

Marisa chuckles and quietly says "What a lazy shrine maiden..."

* * *

Shortly after their safe return to the shrine, the two boys are attacked by Remilia.

Seems Ail's blood is a real treat for said vampire since she almost killed him for it, but thankfully she is stopped in time.

Lucky for Ail he had made friends with quite a few powerful beings, plus Kyo, whose training has paid off nicely, is now able to adapt some magic to his arms.

One thing that surprises everyone is that Ail, from out of nowhere, starts shooting danmaku, but due to his lack of experience at the moment, he can only shoot one powerful blast before draining himself of almost all energy.

Remilia almost kills him after that, managing to slash her claws though his chest, yet he recovers in the course of just a few hours.

Even the wound inflicted by the vampire is almost gone by morning.

After that they meet Kaguya... who, for some reason, did not like Ail ignoring her one bit, then they met Alice who impresses Ail quite a lot with her doll-making and sewing skills, making her head swell up with pride.

After those events with Remilia, Reimu has them training, and in the course of three days only, they already improve their abilities to an impressive level, however they meet Yukari and Kyo opens his big mouth, costing them a trip through one of her gaps.

After witnessing the events, Reimu quietly sneaks behind Yukari, hits her hard on the head with her gohei repeatedly, and shouts "where did you send them to THIS time!"

Rubbing her head Yukari answers "Hakugyokurou".

Reimu grabs Yukari by her ear and pulls her out of her gap, then pulls her all the way inside the shrine demanding "bring them back, UNHARMED!"

Yukari, after finally being released from Reimu's grasp, opens her fan again and covers her mouth while playfully saying "don't worry, this is training for them."

Reimu holds a yin-yang orb on her hand while glaring at the gap youkai.

Yukari knows where she is aiming at and continues "just relax. Yuyuko will take good care of them. When they come back, they'll be able to go off on their own."

Reimu's face fills with panic, then shouts "but who's going to do all my chores now!? And who's gonna go into town to get offerings for the shrine, huh!?"

Yukari looks at Reimu, and whilte still covering her mouth with her fan she says "fu, fu, fu~! You really _are_ a lazy girl, aren't you?"

Unable to dodge in time, Yukari receives a yin-yang orb to the face while Reimu blows steam out of her nose and ears as her face turns bright red.

* * *

After Yukari leaves, Reimu sits down and stars writing on a piece of paper.

"Dear Renko and Maribel,

It's me, Reimu Hakurei.

I don't know if this will sound logical, however... It seems to me that it was fated that these two would come in through that gap instead of you.

First of all, the gap opened away from the shrine, sending the two boys falling to their deaths; however they survive that fall _and_ a youkai attack.

After that they landed themselves inside the underground, where many fearsome youkai live, and managed to survive THAT too.

That Ail is crazy. He went in very deep into the underground; however, like I said before, it seems this was fate.

He came back a lot stronger than before. I am starting to wonder if he's even human.

Anyway, after that they were attacked by a vampire; Ail once more being the target.

He almost got killed, yet survived with nothing but the memory of a scratch. He's even learned how to use danmaku and both boys are becoming quite strong while in here.

They have now been sent to train to another shrine. I guess what I am trying to say is that... their coming here was no accident.

There's too much happening since they came. Maybe it was best all together, that you missed that chance.

Don't despair though, I promise to continue to try and "persuade" my friend to get you in here, however in the mean time I ask that you wait a little longer."

Your friend

The beautiful, sweet and powerful shrine maiden

Reimu Hakurei

* * *

Characters and scenarios belong to ZUN -Team Shanghai Alice-

Ail and Kyo were created by Willie G.R.

JUN 18 2009

Written by

Willie G.R.

**-Edited on MAR 8 2010 and MAY 28 2013 by Willie G.R.-**


	4. Chapter 3

As Kyo and Youmu size each other up; ready to start their sparring match, Ail sits next to Yuyuko, who whimsically smiles at him as they wait for the fight to begin.

Kyo lunges toward Youmu with the energy around his right hand looking like a small blade, while the energy at his left arm looks like a small round bubble.

Youmu jumps high up in the air and comes down holding her sword tightly, virtually cutting the air as she comes down hard on Kyo who dodges her attack at the last second.

Ail opens his eyes wide, then looks at Yuyuko and asks "that sword she has... it just cut the air, didn't it?"

Yuyuko's whimsical smile remains as she answers "well of course. That sword is the... err, what did she call it now...? Oh that's right, the Hakurouken. It can cut through anything, even a person's thoughts. And there's the long one is... err... Roukan~... Roukanken... yes, Roukanken. That one can even cut ghosts."

Yuyuko keeps smiling at Ail, who now has a pale face filled with panic as he shouts "PLEASE, you must _stop them_! She's gonna kill him! Eh?"

Yuyuko sits behind Ail, smiling whimsically as she shushes him and says "don't worry; this is just a sparring match. Nobody is going to die."

As she finishes saying that she positions herself behind Ail, pressing her chest against his back.

The boy's face shines red and his nose starts blowing off steam, then Yuyuko, as if holding a new pet, starts petting Ail's head, playing with his hair as she does, then says "just relax and watch."

Ail can't relax so easily since she keeps squeezing him against her chest constantly, making him feel as though he is going to have a massive nosebleed soon as his nose keeps blowing hot steam and his face keeps burning bright-red.

Outside the ghostly shrine, Youmu is very frustrated as she fails to cut through Kyo's energy, and then says "argh! What's the matter with me!? Am I really this weak?"

Kyo smirks and says "ready to give up? Go on, I won't stop you!"

"NO!" shouts Youmu as she unsheathes her long sword and continues "I'm just getting started with you"

Kyo's smirk widens as he says "good. Cuz I was just warming up."

After saying this the right hand energy expands and the energy blade takes a more solid form.

Again they clash; Youmu's swords fail to cut through the energy that comes from Kyo's arms and feeling even more frustrated she thinks "_dammit, what the hell is this? I can't cut through this energy! Am I really this weak... or is he that strong?_"

Youmu and Kyo keep their eyes locked on each other during their lockup; Youmu growling a little as she and Kyo keep pushing back against each other, making him grunt as well, then break their lockup and after landing safely few feet away she points at him and says "I underestimated you, Kyo! I might as well use a little more power on you, then."

She starts shooting danmaku at the muscled boy, however he simply smirks again and uses the bubble-like shield around his left arm to block and reflect her shots.

Youmu's eyes open wide when she realizes her own shots are coming back to her.

She has some trouble dodging them but manages to dodge in time, and now though a little winded, both fighters size each other up once more before lunging at each other yet again.

* * *

Back at the ghostly shrine, Yuyuko says to the nervous Ail "I'm hungry!"

Ail's face is still red, however something about her tone of voice brings great fear to his heart.

"I wonder what you taste like?" asks Yuyuko while she's drooling all over the boy's shoulder.

Without a second thought, Ail jumps away from her, but she slowly floats toward him with that whimsical smile of hers as she says "you can run all you want, but I'll keep coming at you~!"

Ail somehow knows she isn't lying, so he starts to back away, facing her as he does and shooting his danmaku at her, however she just keeps coming and saying in sing-song "I'm still coming for you~~!"

Ail tries to fly again, however he falls down hard after every three or four seconds of hovering, then Yuyuko taunts him by saying "ooh, so close, yet so far. I'll just have to help you a little"

Still smiling her sweet whimsical smile, Yuyuko unleashes many butterfly-like bullets at Ail.

He, of course, realizes they are quite dangerous and does his best to dodge them all, then continues running and shooting, however without realizing, his flying is lasting a little longer each time he tries.

By now, Hakugyokurou is the sight of two great battles that look like a fireworks display all around.

A blonde girl with short hair, golden eyes, wearing a black uniform with white and red trims, a black hat with a crescent moon decorating the peak, and a violin floating around her, floats close by and notices the spectacle.

"Merlin, Lyrica, come quick, check this out!" excitedly shouts the girl.

Two more girls come by; one has blue eyes and short light-blue wavy hair, wears a pink uniform with blue and black trims similar to the blonde girl's, and a pink pointy hat with a blue sun decorating the tip, and has a trumpet floating around her.

The other has short brown hair and brown eyes, a red uniform with pink and black trims, similar to the others, a red pointy hat with a green shooting star decorating the tip, and a winged keyboard floating around her.

"What is it, Lunasa? Whoa... Lyrica, Lyrica, look, look!" exclaims the girl in pink.

The girl in red looks in awe at the spectacle then says "wow... We should play something for this."

Lunasa and Merlin lift their arms up happily agreeing, but then Lunasa asks "but what should be play?"

All three think for a bit, then Merlin excitedly says "why not play our favorite theme, Phantom Ensemble!", then all three cheer, grab their instruments and begin to play.

As both battles go on, it looks as though they are fighting at the rhythm of the music being played, and very suddenly the ghosts around the playing sisters build a small stage under the three girls, and after building it they all sit in neat straight lines listening to the music and enjoying the show.

By now Kyo and Youmu have reached their limit.

"You... you're pretty good" says Youmu while trying to catch her breath.

"You... aren't so bad... e-either" replies Kyo, who is almost out of breath as well.

"Decisive blow!" shouts Youmu. Kyo nods while staring back into her eyes.

Both rush toward each other and strike while passing by each other, then both stand still for a moment after stopping, and without turning both say at the very same time "you're good", then the fall to the ground, panting.

* * *

Meanwhile, a little farther away, Yuyuko slowly and whimsically chases after Ail who is now starting to sweat as he continues to flee.

He is still shooting danmaku at her, but she just keeps coming, making Ail get tired and frightened for his own safety

She looks really hungry; drool keeps dropping from her smile as she continues to pursue the human.

Suddenly Ail feels something strange; as if his body has become as light as air, so he jumps up and shouts with excitement "I-I'm flying, I'm FLYING!", after quickly realizing he's up in the air.

He starts to spin and twirl in the air, completely forgetting about Yuyuko and right then the music stops playing and the three players head to the ghostly shrine after taking their bows.

Yuyuko smiles at Ail and floats up to meet him, and when he realizes she's within reach he panics, but she lifts her right hand saying "that's enough for today. You have done admirably!"

He looks confused at the ghost princess, then Yuyuko grabs his arm and says "come on, let's go eat now. I am so hungry." And so she pulls him back to the ground and drags him back to the shrine.

"Youmu, you better get up and fix up some dinner... I'm hu~ngry~!" says Yuyuko in a very sweet tone just before she enters the shrine's living room.

Just outside the shrine Youmu and Kyo struggle to stand up from the ground, then look at each other and laugh as they see their messed up and dirtied clothes and faces.

As Youmu heads to the kitchen Ail tries to run to her saying "let me help you," but Yuyuko grabs his shirt and pulls him to her lap, embracing him like a mother would embrace her child and says "no, no. Guests shouldn't cook at the host's house;" and then begins to comb his hair with her fingers, making Ail's face turns bright red again as he melts within her grasp.

Kyo enters just a bit after Youmu, bows to Yuyuko, then asks "may I be allowed to help Youmu, with all due respect?"

Yuyuko looks at Kyo seriously, and then opens a fan saying "go ahead then. You may."

Ail is about to complain, but again she embraces him tightly and softly says "rest. Even half-youkai needs rest after that," then suddenly, as if under a spell, Ail falls completely asleep while sitting on Yuyuko's lap.

After some time passes Yuyuko wakes Ail up as soon as the meal is served and presents the Prismriver sisters to him.

Lunasa, Merlin and Lyrica bow down as Ail bows his head to them, and before leaving Merlin says "I hope we get to see more fireworks around here!"

"So?" asks Ail "why exactly are you helping us like this; out of the blue like that?"

Yuyuko swallows two rice balls, chewing them contently while looking at Youmu.

Youmu gasps and says "because idly would Yukari send live humans over here, unless there was some reason... is that right Yuyu-sama?"

"Good girl, Youmu" replies Yuyuko right after gulping, and Youmu immediately thanks her mistress for the compliment after a quick and nervous bow.

* * *

After eating Yuyuko pats her belly and sighs contently, then looks to Ail and Kyo and says "the moment I felt your presence I knew there was something to you two, but after knowing it was my friend Yukari that sent you here in the first place, then I was certain. She sent you here to learn to use your hidden abilities."

Ail looks at Yuyuko a bit puzzled... she won't stop eying him as she speaks and continues to do so, then she suddenly grabs Ail again and makes him sit on her lap, embracing him once more.

Kyo smirks and gives Ail the thumbs up, however when Ail tries to flip him off Yuyuko slaps his hand and tenderly says "no, no, no. Don't be rude."

Ail lowers his head as Kyo quietly chuckles and heads outside.

For two more days they train hard, Yuyuko making Ail fly with weighs all over his body, and other... more unrealistic items of incredible weight hanging on his feet.

Kyo and Youmu spar harder each day; both increasing their strength and agility, not to mention that Kyo is now able to expand and shoot the energy from his arms at a desired target, and even better, it also homes in to the target he thinks about while shooting.

Every day while they train, the Prismrivers come over and play music for them, and the last theme they played they called "Border of Life", and made Ail feel very uneasy around Yuyuko for some reason.

On the morning of the third day, Ail and Kyo are saying their goodbyes to their new friends.

Yuyuko pats Ail on the head and says "I am very proud of you. You passed all the tests with ease. You should be able to take care of yourself from now on. And you Kyo should be able to take care of yourself as well. Just don't forget to practice as much as possible."

Youmu stares at Kyo, and with a confident smile she says "I'll be training hard too, so make sure to be ready when we meet again, got it?"

Kyo smiles back and waves, and then nods at Youmu.

Meanwhile Yuyuko holds on to Ail's shoulders and looks at him in the eyes, then lets him go while smiling at him.

They reach the gate between the Netherworlds and Gensokyo, and then Ail grabs Kyo by his arms and flies in, and now both descend back to the world of the living.

Kyo looks up to his friend's face, then says "Hey, Ail."

Ail snaps out of a trance and looks at Kyo who continues "what was the deal with you and that ghost-lady?"

Ail keeps quiet for a moment while thinking about what Yuyuko said to him one of the nights when she held him like a child again; that's when she said to him "_if I had a child, I am sure he would be like you. Please don't die too soon and come visit sometime, alright?_"

After his thoughts end, Ail answers Kyo, though still lost in thought "that's what I'd like to know..."

* * *

After about 30 minutes they arrive to the Hakurei Shrine and land softly on the front yard.

Reimu comes out of the shrine with her gohei at hand, then sees the two boys and seemingly surprised she says "oh, it's you... is it?"

Kyo rapidly replies "well of **COURSE** it's us. We're right here, aren't we?"

Sounding almost disappointed, Reimu says "as rude as ever, I see."

Kyo clenches his fist, but before he says anything else Reimu continues "so the ghosts give you a hard time?"

Ail is still lost in thought, so Kyo answers for both, saying "it was rough training, but we mastered it. Something happened with him..." points at Ail "...and the ghost princess. He's completely lost inside his world now."

Reimu looks at them with a face that says "What a Pain" however she will not really say it.

Ail is suddenly alerted by something moving around the bushes that surround the shrine, so he slowly gets closer to the bushes, feeling a strong power behind them.

Far behind Ail, Kyo and Reimu argue about the chores, then the shrine maiden ends the argument saying "well if you're going to stay here, you know the drill... here, sweep."

Kyo angrily replies "what! You lazy shrine maiden, we just came back from heavy training! Give us a break!"

They continue arguing on, however Ail is more interested in the power behind the bushes and completely ignores them.

Suddenly, a little girl who is reeking of sake jumps from the behind bushes, shouting "HI~~!", and Ail just stands there looking back at her with both curiosity and surprise.

She has two large brown horns; one adorned with a blue bow, the other with a ribbon; and knee-long orange hair done into a ponytail at the bottom.

She wears a tattered pink blouse, a long purple skirt and wears three chain accessories, one a circle, another a triangle and the other a square.

To Ail's eyes, she looks like a child.

The boy stands there and smiles while saying "you must be Suika, right? Suika Ibuki? Reimu's told us all about you!"

Suika stares confused at Ail, who stutters for a moment, then says "oh, forgive me. I am Ail, and that one arguing with Reimu is Kyo, my friend."

Smiling, Suika extends her arm saying "nice to meet cha, Ail! So, Reimu talked about me, huh?"

Ail smiles back, and while shaking her hand he says "yes. She said you were a crazy little drunkard powerhouse that annoyed her to no ends."

Suika laughs hard and says "oh yeah, that's me alright."

After he finishes arguing with Reimu, Kyo walks by and asks "who's the little runt?"

Ail sweats and nervously says "err... you shouldn't have said that", then quickly moves away.

Suika's eyes are covered in shadow as she leers at Kyo, then says "runt, huh? I'll show you runt."

She punches Kyo right in the kisser, sending him spinning toward Reimu and falling on top of her in a very suggestive manner.

Reimu panics and shouts "HEY! Get _OFF ME_!"

*Click, click* A camera shutter is heard, then two large crow wings stretch as a woman yells "ayayaya!" and flies above the shrine trees.

She has semi-long black hair, red eyes, has a red tokin adorned with white feather puffs and wears a white blouse and a short black skirt.

With a confident smirk she shouts "Ha-ha~! With this, I'll show all my readers the TRUTH about the shrine maiden and the two handsome men from the outside world, WAHAHA~!"

While struggling to get Kyo off of herself, Reimu says "Aya, you **BITCH**! Just wait 'till I get my HANDS ON YOU!"

Aya smirks wickedly and says "now that's not the way to talk to your betters, Miss Shrine Maiden. See ya", and with that, she signals them goodbye, then flies away at great speeds, and without thinking Ail lifts off after Aya.

* * *

As she flies away, feeling safe and victorious, Aya says "Hehehe, that was just too easy. And now I shall report the truth!"

Ail gets beside her without her notice, and with a cocky smile he says "and what kind of truth would that be? Perhaps it's a little white lie, or an entirely made up story?"

Aya smirks and says "well, you think you can keep up with me that easily? Let's see about that!"

Magically her wings vanish, leaving a few feathers fluttering down to the ground.

Ail calmly says "well if you try that, all you'll achieve is flashing me with your panties for a few seconds... while I catch up, that is."

Aya gets a bit annoyed "tck! Cocky aren't we!? I'll be so far ahead, you won't get the chance!"

Suddenly Aya takes out a card-like piece of paper and mouths some words, and then starts flying so fast she looks like a white lance flying in the sky.

After a minute, she goes down to some trees and lands on the higher branches, snickering and saying "that slowpoke will never find me now."

She takes out the photos from her pockets and starts looking at them while giggling and saying "how juicy" and then someone pulls the photos from her hands saying "thank you very much."

It is Ail, and as he smirks he puts the photos into one of his pockets; quickly zipping it close; and then asks "What took you so long? I thought you said I wouldn't be able to keep up!"

Aya stutters for a moment, then smiles after shaking off her surprise and says "for a human, you really are something else. Fine, you win."

She's going to take out one more photo; however Ail already has it, along with her camera.

Aya despairs and excitedly says "no... Not my camera! Give it back!"

"Fine" says Ail, throwing the camera back to her while looking at the picture.

It is a picture of himself on Kyo's arms with the three large gashes on his chest, right after Remilia had attacked him, and all his friends surround Kyo and him while looking quite worried.

Staring at the picture he says "you really are everywhere, aren't you?"

Aya chuckles as Ail continues "I really worried everyone, huh? It was after all this... that I started to truly learn what I am capable of."

Ail's expression turns very serious, so after noticing this Aya says "you can go ahead and keep it then. I wouldn't know what to write about that anyway. It's not really an interesting story"

Ail nods, and suddenly intercepts a large sword that splits the picture in half after Ail claps the blade between his hands.

Holding the large sword is a girl with short white hair, dog ears and a white tail, wearing a red tokin like Aya's only without the accessories, a long detached-sleeved white shirt and a large black shirt under it, a black skirt with red at the bttom, and also has a large round white shield with a red leaf print that looks like Aya's fan.

"Miss Aya, are you alright?" asks the girl as she keeps pressing her sword against Ail, who keeps holding it back with his hands, however it's starting to slip.

Aya desperately says "Momiji, stop, he's a friend!"

Momiji stops just as the blade is about to slip and cut Ail's face in half, then backs away and bows while saying "sorry about that; can't be too careful."

They get off the trees and back to the ground where Momiji apologizes once more, then Ail says "it's alright, I'm well, and you were just protecting your friend is all, so no hard feelings."

Momiji's tail starts to wag rapidly, and then she blushes when she realizes this.

* * *

After saying their goodbyes and fly back to their homes, Ail decides to take a more scenic route and notices a field of sunflowers under him, and then suddenly he can't fly anymore.

He feels as though something pulls him down, then he falls hard on the ground damaging various sunflowers.

From behind another sunflower patch a woman ominously watch Ail as he gets up.

She has shoulder-length green hair, red eyes, a red plaid skirt and matching waistcoat over a plain white shirt, and carrying a parasol with her.

She stares at Ail with a friendly smile on her face, however the atmosphere around her suggests otherwise.

She slowly walks to where Ail is, however stops on her tracks and looks very surprised.

Ail gets up and realizes he landed on the bed of sunflowers, damaging many of them.

He exclaims "crap, the sunflowers..! Oh no, what have I done?"

He backs away a little and points his hands at them, and then suddenly they spring back to life.

He dusts his hands and says "well, that should do it" then he spots the woman standing behind him.

"Oh... hello there" says Ail, but is interrupted by the woman quickly asks "boy, how did you do that?"

Ail looks at her and says "I just shared some of my own energy with them. I'm not sure how, but I did."

The woman looks impressed then suspiciously asks "and why did you do that? They're just flowers after all."

Ail calmly replies "they may be JUST flowers, but they still have life and feel pain as well."

The woman opens her eyes wide and says "it's not every day you meet someone so... special. My name is Yuka Kazami. What is your name, young man?"

"My name is Anilan Inmodo Leuch, but please call me Ail. A pleasure to meet you, Miss Yuka" says Ail while bowing his head, then continues as he lifts his sight "now I better head back. My friends are probably starting to get worried about me."

Yuka stares at him saying "wait a moment. Before you go... could you help this little plant come to life?"

"I'll try" replies Ail as Yuka forcefully hands him a dry potted plant she pulls out of her skirt's pockets.

He concentrates for a moment, then suddenly the plant starts to come to life before Yuka's very eyes.

The plant is a beautiful blue flower with long petals on a large stem.

Ail opens his eyes and hands the plant over to her, then flies back to the shrine again.

Yuka gazes blankly at Ail's direction, blushing a slight bit, then she looks at her plant and smirks.

"Just a moment," exclaims Ail as he stops and turns around, looking seriously at Yuka and asks "you wouldn't happen to know why I-?"

"No." interrupts Yuka quickly, with a friendly smile on her face.

Ail looks at her with suspicion, but just waves his hand at her and flies away, then Yuka heads to the plants Ail had just revived and says "you sure caught a special one."

* * *

Back at the shrine, Kyo and Suika have made peace with each other and are drinking sake, while Reimu thanks Ail for retrieving the photos from Aya.

Soon after, it's night already; they all eat, have a few laughs, then go to sleep.

The next morning, Cirno, Mystia, Rumia and another girl that has very short teal hair, bug-like antennae, wears a white shirt with stylized short sleeves, knee-length baggy pants and a black cape that is red inside, who is named called Wriggle Nightbug, are all gathered by Kyo and Ail at the shrine's stairs to hear about the outside world.

Ail has drawn for them a Famsys DS and is telling them how it works, while Kyo tells them about sports cars, gyms and action movies.

After they boys are done, Cirno puffs her chest and boastfully says "I am a genius, so I'm going to build my own Famisys DS!"

Just as the girls leave the shrine talking about all that they had just heard, Reimu walks to them and without saying a word she hands them a note that reads:

"Dear boys,

You must go to the Scarlet Devil Mansion and resolve an incident that's been occurring there for almost 500 years.

You favorite lady of the world,

Yukari Yakumo"

Reimu adds "and she made me promise not to butt in. Not that I would be able to. There's something fishy going on in the subterranean caves again and me and Marisa are going to investigate... I was hoping Ail could go... but... it's such a pain, really."

Ail and Kyo look at each other, then they look at Reimu, and then Kyo asks her "this wouldn't be that crazy vampire's home, would it?"

Reimu smiles while saying "why yes, I'm so glad you remembered. Now you won't let down your guard for a second, right?"

Kyo gulps; however Ail looks dead serious and his eyes are filled with great determination.

Kyo looks a little worried, however Ail says "don't worry, we're not going to die", but now even Reimu looks a little scared of Ail at that moment.

Marisa arrives on her broom shouting "Reimu, come on, let's go play underground, ze!"

Reimu sighs loudly then flies away with Marisa.

Ail looks at Kyo and says "you can stay if-" but Kyo places the palm of his hand right in front Ail's face and says "and let YOU get stronger still, and probably have all the fun and glory? No way!"

Kyo smiles at Ail, who nods then grabs Kyo by his arms and both fly away toward the Scarlet Devil Mansion.

Suika, still yawning, gets out of the shrine and after looking all around she asks "where is everyone?"

She then looks inside and sees Reimu's spare clothes, then smiles as she heads back inside, humming a tune to herself.

* * *

Cirno once told Ail that she lived by a lake, and that there was a big red building on an island where vampires lived, so it was easy for Ail to find the Scarlet Mansion once he found the Misty Lake.

Kyo and Ail land near the lake's shores and see Cirno working diligently on something on a tree stump.

Curious, Ail asks "Hey, Cirno. What are you doing there?"

The little ice fairy replies "I told you, I am a genius."

She continues working while saying "I am building that Dees you told me about."

Kyo and Ail both look at each other, then head to the direction of the mansion just as Kyo finishes saying "Cirno, it's not Dees, it's D-S."

Pausing for a moment Cirno turns and glares at Kyo, then seeming absent-minded she says "I knew that", and continued working on her project.

Once the two boys reach the mansion's gate they see a woman with aqua eyes and long scarlet hair wearing a green beret with a star on it that reads "Dragon", and wears a green dress that looks just like traditional Chinese clothing.

Before the boys get too close the girls happily says "hello there humans. Don't you know it's dangerous for you around these parts?"

Ail steps up and says "hello! My name is Ail and this is Kyo. We've come to solve-"

Ail abruptly stops as the girl smiles at them and says "you may not pass. Please turn around and leave;" then she prepares a fighting stance "or you'll have to deal with me."

Ail stands his ground and says "we don't wish to cause any harm, however we cannot go back."

The woman surrounds her hand with very colorful energy and repeats "please, turn around and leave. I do not wish to harm humans now."

Kyo balls both hands into fists and surrounds them with white energy, however he keeps the energy formless around his arms and says "Ail, you go inside. I'll handle Miss... err..."

The woman smiles; her eyes filled with excitement at the sight of Kyo's energy; then says "I am Meiling Hong, and you look like a worthy opponent. Are you really humans?"

Kyo smirks, stances and says "maybe."

Meiling eyes her opponent, smirks back and says "good, then I won't feel bad for not holding back!"

Suddenly both run toward each other throwing punches at each other's faces when in range, and blocking just in time.

The fight is incredibly fast. Ail has a hard time following them both.

Meiling tries to surprise Kyo with a kick; however Kyo surprises them both by blocking her kick with his own; which was surrounded by energy as well; revealing her leg to be surrounded by that colorful energy that was around her arms as well.

Meiling and Kyo back off for a moment then the guardian girl says "not bad. This might be interesting. I haven't had an interesting match ever since my special training."

Meiling flies up and Ail thinks this is bad for his friend, however Kyo jumps to the highest branch of a nearby tree, then nods at his friend.

Ail walks to the mansion's entrance, but Meiling shoots many colorful crystals at him, however he glares at them, then somehow they turn around.

As soon as he does this an image of Yukari appears smiling at him and fills his head, however he ignores this and enters.

Meiling dodges her reflected shots then Kyo says "so dishonorable, ignoring your opponent like that. Your devotion for your job is ADMIRABLE though!"

Kyo jumps from the branch and reaches Meiling, who blocks his punches and kicks, however the impact from one last kick sends her crashing down.

She lands on her knees, smirking back at Kyo as she gets up, and just as soon as Kyo lands she lunges forward for her next attack.

* * *

Inside the Scarlet Devil Mansion Ail realizes the mansion is a LOT bigger inside than outside.

"Interesting" he says while admiring the surroundings. "They use magic to make the mansion bigger than it really is."

Ail spots three fairies and a devil girl wearing a long black dress with white long sleeves, a pair of black bat wings on her back and a smaller pair of wings on her head, and with long red hair and red eyes.

All of them notice him as well and immediately attack, surrounding him in smoke.

Just before the smoke clears he says "my name is Anilan Inmodo Leuch, however call me Ail, please."

The smoke clears revealing a blue barrier just like the one in Satori's mansion, only smaller, surrounding him again as he continues "I am here on important business and wish to speak with the mistress of this mansion."

As he speaks, again an image of Yukari smiling, and now laughing, fills his head once more, however he just ignores it, looking rather serious at the maids and devil girl.

The barrier vanishes and from the next floor a voice says "I am sorry, but the mistress is not available at this time." It is Sakuya, the chief maid of the mansion.

As she slowly comes down the main stairs she looks at the devil girl and says "Koakuma, lady Patchouli needs you in the library."

As if something has just struck her, Koakuma shrieks then flaps her wings with force, flying away as speedily as she can while almost singing "Co~~~mi~ng!"

Sakuya gets close to Ail and asks "and why would you come here? You know what will happen if the Mistress finds you!"

Ail smiles, however his smile seems twisted for a second but then goes back to his regular polite smile, and then he says "we were asked to come here and solve an incident that has been occurring here for nearly 500 years. Any ideas what that might mean?"

Sakuya stares with confusion for a moment then composes herself quickly and says "I haven't a clue... but from the looks of it, you're not leaving until you're done, am I correct?"

Ail nods just as Kyo enters a little battered up saying "what, you still here? I thought you'd have this solved by now~~hello Miss Sakuya..."

Kyo gazes upon Sakuya and blushes, his eyes turn into pink hearts, then bonks Ail's head while asking "you're not bothering Miss Sakuya, are you!"

Ail rubs his head looking rather annoyed while saying "of course not!"

Kyo backs up saying "whoa, whoa, calm down, I was just joking. What's wrong with you?"

Ail apologizes saying "s-sorry. You just caught me by surprise is all."

Sakuya looks at Ail suspiciously and then says "look, why don't you go to the library first? Just follow the same path Koakuma took and that will lead you to the basement where the library is. I need to go have a word with the gatekeeper, so I'll trust you'll be on your best behavior."

Kyo smiles and says "well of course. We would never do anything bad, right Ail?"

Ail looks a little pale, his eyes turning dark, but hides this with a smile and says "well of course."

Once outside Sakuya finds Meiling trying to stand up, but she is in a complete daze and is unable to do so.

The chief approaches her then gently pushes her down and says "calm down Meiling. I need you to recover as fast as you can. Something's not right with that Ail and I am going to need your help..."

* * *

Ail; who has been very quiet; and Kyo reach the library and enter through the doors, immediately admiring the walls of books everywhere.

Kyo looks to Ail suspiciously and asks again "bro, are you sure you're alright? You've been acting strange ever since you read that letter."

Ail smiles and says "it's nothing to worry about."

They reach a desk at what they suspect is the center of the library.

"Hello~" calls Ail loudly, and from behind comes a woman with long purple hair and purple eyes with lots of ribbons tied to her hair and clothes.

She wears what looks like light-purple pajamas and a matching night-cap with a golden crescent moon on it.

With a soft and calm voice the woman asks "what are you doing in my library?"

Ail bows his head and says "my name is Ail, and this is Kyo, my friend. We came here looking for clues to an incident."

Staring neutrally at the two boys the woman says "well, Ail and Kyo, my name is Patchouli Knowledge, and this is my library. Please don't touch any of the books here without my permission."

Kyo scratches his head and looking surprised he says "that was blunt."

Ail quickly says "we were sent here to solve an incident that has been occurring for almost 500 years. Any ideas what this means?"

Patchouli looks at Ail saying "you should be resting, you know? Yes, I know what it means, however in your current state, you shouldn't get involved."

Kyo looks at Ail, who is starting to emanate red energy and smiling in a twisted way, then asks "Ail, bro... are you sick?"

Ail's red energy disappears then he looks normal again and asks "I'm fine. Why?"

Suddenly Ail feels massive energy coming deeper inside the basement and starts to run to it.

Patchouli and Kyo look at each other surprised, and then Patchouli opens her eyes wide and exclaims "we have to stop your friend, NOW!"

Kyo doesn't even ask and just runs to Ail, however just as he reaches his friend an invisible barrier forms, blocking all paths to him.

With great concern in her usually calm voice Patchouli says "this isn't good. Your friend is not in the best of states right now... he could get killed!"

Kyo punches the barrier with his energy while shouting "Ail! Ail, come back!"

* * *

Ail gets out of the library; his eyes turning dark as he continues down the basement, then a peculiar door catches his attention.

It has many locks on it, but there is also something banging loudly from inside and then suddenly, a cute blonde girl bursts right through the door.

She has vampiric scarlet eyes, and wears a red dress and vest with a pink shirt underneath, a pink mop hat with a red ribbon attached to it, a side ponytail under the ribbon, and her wings look as though are made black of iron bars and prism shards of different colors.

Ail returns back to normal while saying "whoa; what a strong little girl!"

The girl looks at him and giggles, then says "wow, you're new. I like you. Wanna play?"

Ail looks very surprised and says "err... I can't now... My name is Ail and I-"

The little girl interrupts him mocking him by saying "blah, blah, and blah. Look I've been locked in there for almost 500 years. You are strong, and I want to play with you. You look like you don't break; just like the witch and the red and white one."

From very far away a faint voice screams "don't call me red and WHITE~!"

Ail looks at the little girl and asks "break? What do you mean, little girl?"

The little girl pouts and says "don't call me little girl. My name is Flandre... Flandre Scarlet, and I want to play danmaku with you!" then she starts shooting very powerful blasts at Ail as soon as she finishes her sentence.

He jumps away from them, letting them explode all over the floor, then his eyes darken as he shouts "HEY, that's not **PLAYING**. If you just want to battle then just say so!"

Flandre looks at him funny, and says "but this is playing. It ends when you break" she finishes saying with a smile on her face.

Ail's eyes turn blood-red, and then he smiles a very twisted smile toward Flandre and says "well then... game on!"

* * *

Sakuya and Meiling hear the blasts from outside, causing Meiling to recover in seconds as Sakuya shouts "dammit, something happened sooner than hoped," and as both run inside Meiling thinks of Flandre for some reason.

In the library Kyo and Patchouli work together to bring down the last barrier blocking the door, both trying to hurry as the blasts get more intense.

Ail and Flandre battle fiercely; however to Flandre it all seems like her game is going well.

She giggles and laughs until one of Ail's red magic orbs hits her on the chest, blowing up on impact.

Flandre stops in place as the smoke from the blast sizzles from her clothes, then says "ow~, that hurt! You play rough, huh?", then she gestures her right hand as if she is grabbing something.

Suddenly, Ail feels great pain in his head and shouts "gah! What the HELL!?"

Flandre giggles, and with a wicked smile on her face and a scarlet glow in her eyes she says "now, when I close my hand you will break. It was fun playing with you, but now... wh-?"

Ail gestures his right hand as if he has just caught something in the air, then suddenly Flandre gasps, holds her chest with both hands, and then starts screaming in pain.

Ail's eyes turn black, his pupils glow blood-red pupil, his teeth become jagged, and his fingers now have very long sharp claws.

He squeezes an unseen energy on his hand, and every time he does Flandre screams louder.

In a twisted and warped tone of voice Ail shouts "I don't hear you giggling, LITTLE GIRL! What's the matter, does it hurt!? DOES IT!?"

Soon-after, Patchouli and Kyo manage to break through the barrier on the library door, and as soon as they run out, they are joined by Sakuya and Meiling, then hear Flandre's screams and move fast.

"What's going on!?" asks Sakuya, and both Kyo and Patchouli answered at the same time "**Ail's gone mad!**"

Flandre screams again, this time she starts to cry as well making Meiling despair and run faster than the others and arriving at the scene quickly.

Ail has Flandre begging to stop, however all he does is laugh in a warped, twisted manner and repeats "I thought you said this was FUN! WELL! IS IT!?"

Flandre cries out loud "no~! It hurts! Sakuya~, Meiling, it hurts!"

Ail, his voice sounding more ominous, says "when I close my hand, you will break. That's what you said, didn't you?"

Flandre sobs and now keeps calling "onee-chaaaan~! IT hurts~!"

Meiling is going to punch Ail, however he twists his head without moving his body, and while facing her he says "go on... I'll just clench my fist and punch you back. Oh, but wait, if I do that, the little monster dies doesn't she?"

From behind Meiling, Kyo shouts "AIL! What the hell are you doing!?"

This shocks Ail, making him turn his sights back to Flandre again to ignore his friend.

He's about to ball his hand into a fist but Kyo gets in the way, making Ail release the energy; letting Flandre go in the process.

Meiling immediately rushes to her yelling at Ail "IDIOT, look what you did to her," then embraces Flandre and softly says "I'm here little sister" then Flandre weakly hugs Meiling back, letting the gate guard know she is alive.

Sakuya says "Meiling, take her to the mistress' room on the double! I'll teach this monster a lesson."

Meiling rushes back to the first floor with Flandre in her hands, then Sakuya takes many daggers into her hand and turns to Ail, however Patchouli holds her shoulder, shaking her head lightly, then Sakuya realizes both Kyo and Ail are fighting each other.

Ail's eyes look emptily toward Kyo, who fights with all his might to subdue his friend while shouting "c'mon Ail, wake up, what the hell is wrong with you!"

Even after Kyo lands a punch on Ail's face, his blank stare remains, then suddenly he lunges at Kyo, who grabs hold of both his arms.

The muscled boy keeps yelling at his long-time friend, trying to make him snap out of it, but Ail continues to stare blankly, then suddenly, as if using his last breath, Ail says "K-Kyo... H-help... me."

Suddenly a blue portal opens behind Ail and sucks him inside.

Kyo tries to hold on to Ail, however he slips and lets him go.

Kyo almost enters the portal behind Ail, however it closes too fast for him.

Inside the blue void, Ail can only see the image of Yukari, laughing softly with her fan covering her mouth and looking straight at him as he floats away inside the portal.

Back at the mansion's basement, Kyo bangs his fists hard on the floor, screaming Ail's name and shouting angrily.

After he calms down, Sakuya places her hand on his shoulder and asks him to follow her, however when all three turn around, there is Yukari, covering her mouth with that fan, hiding a very sad look on her face.

Sakuya grasps Kyo's shoulder the second she feels he is going to charge at Yukari, and then they all look toward Yukari, hoping for answers.

* * *

Inside the portal Ail floats on, aimlessly; his eyes blank as he stares nowhere, however his mind spins with countless thoughts.

What Yuyuko had told him, what Satori and he spoke of when he went underground, what had happened when Remilia tried to kill him, how he almost destroyed Flandre just now, and how he felt hatred toward his friend, even if it was for just a second.

Subconsciously, he closes his eyes and suddenly feels ground underneath him.

After what feels like hours to him, he opens his eyes and sees three peculiar silhouettes, one looking like a giant frog, another like a young girl, and the other like a shapely woman.

"Shh, shh, he's waking up. Suwako, get out of the way." says the woman.

"Sorry" says a childlike voice, and then the frog-like silhouette backs away.

"Sanae, how's it coming?" asks the woman's voice.

"Almost. Just a little bit more" replies the young girl.

The woman then says "young man, you better sleep some more," and then Ail feels very sleepy and everything goes dark once again.

Again it feels as though hours have passed, and then, finally, Ail fully wakes up.

He is inside a small room inside a shrine, but it isn't Hakurei Shrine, nor Hakugyokurou.

"Where am I?" softly asks the boy as he rubs his eyes, then a young woman comes in saying "you are at the Moriya Shrine on top of the Youkai Mountain. You've been unconscious for over a month now."

Ail's eyes open widely, and then he asks "a month?"

Ail looks up at the girl; she looks like a shrine maiden.

She wears a blue and white outfit with detached sleeves, and light-blue polka-dots and stripes covering the blue areas and her long blue skirt.

She has dark green eyes and long green hair adorned with a snake shaped hair clip and a frog's head clip.

The girl smiles angelically at Ail and says "you must be Ail, correct? I am Sanae Kochiya, wind priestess."

Ail lightly bows then asks "what happened to me? I remember... doing something terrible, then everything went black after that."

Behind Sanae a tall woman enters carrying a jar with something red glowing inside.

She wears a red shirt with long white sleeves and a mirror on the chest, has a long black skirt with a red flower print on it that is held by a rope belt, and has puffy intense blue hair and dark red eyes.

Sanae says "this is Miss Kanako Yasaka, and what she's holding is a little spirit that was trying to control you."

Kanako looks at Ail who lowers his sight, and sounding casual she says "you were lucky, young one. If the Hakurei Maiden had found you, you'd still be in the hospital breathing through tubes. She is still furious though. I would suggest hiding."

* * *

Outside the shrine the trees have turned orange and leaves are falling in great numbers. It is now autumn and the days are growing quite cold, and Ail stands just outside the shrine's porch while speaking to Sanae and Kanako.

Ail asks "How can I ever repay you for all you have done?"

Kanako, who is a bit drunk, places her hand on Ail's shoulder and says "now don't you worry about that. We took some of your money and bought many drinks... to drink for your QUICK -hic- recovery."

Sanae looks appalled saying "Lady Kanako!" however Kanako just flaps her hand in the air at Sanae and says "now, now, Sanae. The drinks worked, he's fine now, see?"

Ail laughs when Sanae scolds Kanako again, then a small blond girl comes by and asks "what's going on... oh, the boy woke up!"

She wears a small purple dress with frog prints on it and large white sleeves stitched on to the torso.

She has green eyes and wears on her head a light-brown wide-brimmed hat with two frog-like eyes on the top and wears high white stockings and black shoes.

"Lady Suwako" exclaims Sanae. "Welcome home."

Ail looks at Suwako, and to his eyes she looks like a small child, however he can feel there is more to her.

Sanae continues "Ail, this is Suwako Moriya."

Ail opens his eyes wide, and immediately bows down and says "forgive me; I didn't know you were the goddess of this shrine!"

Suwako giggles and says "so polite... however there are three gods here," and then she points at Kanako, who is now sitting on the floor and waving at Ail, more drunk than before, then at Sanae, who smiles and waves.

He bows to her and Kanako wraps her arm around his neck before he straightens up, saying "come and join me in a drink."

Ail sweats and says "Err... n-no sorry, I'm weak to drinks. Please forgive me."

Kanako releases Ail and looks disappointed as she says "eh? You too? Look Sanae, just like you... you two need to drink more... Here's to that!" and she drinks another full extra-large cup of sake.

Ail and Sanae look at each other, then they blush and turn away.

Suwako notices this and calls Ail to her, then she jumps as soon as he's in range, wraps her arm around his neck and lowers him to her height, then smiles and whispers "if you want to earn the rights to date my Sanae, you better start behaving, alright?" She then lets him go.

Ail's eyes do not lie. He is completely surprised about what Suwako had just said, and then Suwako looks at him a little annoyed and says "hey, I'm a goddess, not a kid!"

Ail, still looking at her, starts to laugh hard and apologizes, however the laughter is ended abruptly by a witch in black and white, who threateningly says "and so, here is where you have been hiding all this time, ze? You know, we've been looking for you ever since that little mess at the mansion."

Ail looks up and right above him he spots Marisa smiling and saying "daze!" then she continues "I don't know what happened exactly, but I do know you made the little sister Flan cry... and I'm here to collect some payback, ze!"

Ail knows that smile. Marisa is aiming for a battle; a real battle.

Suwako and Sanae are going to say something; however Ail raises his hand and says "it's time I paid for the damage I have caused... even if it wasn't fully my fault."

Ail smiles back at Marisa and says "besides, I've been dying to see her Master Spark, first-hand."

* * *

To be continued...

Characters, scenario and theme songs belong to ZUN -Team Shanghai Alice-

Ail and Kyo were created by Willie G.R.

JUN 19 2009

written by

Willie G.R

**-EDITED on MAR 23 2010 and MAY 29 2013 by Willie G.R.-**


	5. Chapter 4

For 15 minutes Ail and Marisa battle each other, and every time Marisa shoots Ail somehow blocks or takes the attack head-on to protect the Moriya Shrine from receiving any damage, and yet he is as fresh as when the battle started.

Kanako is so drunk all she does is yell nonsense while Suwako cheers Ail on and Sanae begs him and the witch to stop fighting already.

Marisa clenches her teeth and stares at Ail, saying "you are worse than a cockroach, you know that? Fine; I'll go all out now."

Marisa smiles now as she lifts her hat and takes out a wooden octagonal block with some sort of symbols on it, then shouts "get ready to feel the burn, DA-ZE!"

Ail braces for impact while moving away from the Moriya shrine to make sure it's safe, and after positioning himself at Marisa's same height he can clearly see her mouthing some words, however Ail can't hear a single word from her, yet an incredibly large beam of light from the octagonal box flies straight at him with speed and fury.

The extremely large beam reaches him in an instant and all he can do now is block and wait for the attack to end.

After the beam fades Ail is still flying, however he coughs out a thick puff of smoke and realizes his clothes are completely messed up.

Behind him, at a distance, a little black ball flies aimlessly around the trees saying "is that so~?"

Marisa smiles and says "you're still flying after that? No matter. There's plenty more where that came from, ze."

Without waiting another moment, she points the box at Ail again, and again mouths some words, and then the beam comes flying at Ail yet again.

When the beam vanishes for the second time, the boy is gone.

Marisa snickers and flings her Hakkero in the air and catches it as it falls, proudly saying to herself "heh, I guess it was a bit too much for him, ze! That'll teach him to mess with Flan ag-gain?"

Marisa looks at her hand and realizes the Hakkero hasn't fallen yet, so she looks up and behind herself.

Ail has caught her Hakkero and is hovering just above and behind her, and when she tries to move he kicks her broom, flinging it to the air and catching it with the same hand which he has the Hakkero, then grabs Marisa by the back of her shirt with his other hand and ends the battle at last.

As Ail slowly floats back down with Marisa he tosses the witch's things to Sanae while saying "please hold these", then tosses Marisa to the ground like a rag-doll.

As Marisa stands up grumbling Ail asks "what was that you were mouthing just before that beam came out?"

Marisa is surprised and exclaims "whoa, you saw that...!? Maybe there's some hope for you after all."

Ail looks rather confused and asks "was that... Master Spark?"

Marisa gets up and somehow has her broom back already, then pockets her Hakkero after taking it from Sanae's hands, smiles as she looks back at Ail and says "if I were you, I'd hide from Reimu. Thanks to you she had to visit the Scarlet Mansion daily just to get Kyo back to the shrine."

After saying that she waves at Ail, the gods and then Sanae, then sits on her broom and lifts up in the air, heading to the Scarlet Mansion.

Ail looks to the gods and Sanae and says "I think I'll walk to the shrine. Lady Kanako, Lady Suwako, Miss Sanae. Thanks again for everything... and for somehow fixing my clothes so quickly, heheh."

Praise materialize from Ail's chest and head directly to Sanae, Suwako and Kanako, in that order in the form of green sparks, however Ail has no idea what just happened, while all three smile at him.

Ail smiles back, bows, then starts his walk back to the Hakurei Shrine.

Not long after leaving the shrine grounds the boy reaches a waterfall and looking down from it he realizes it's a long way down, however he finds a path he can use to climb down.

For some reason he refuses to fly, but thinks to himself that he would fly if he needs to.

* * *

As Ail climbs down the waterfall; looking like a bug from a distance; Aya quietly flies next to him, then suddenly says "Ayayaya~! Ail, you're alive?"

She immediately takes quite a few pictures of him climbing down the rocky path, and after grunting Ail says "hey Aya. Yeah, I'm alive and well as you can see."

Aya just keeps staring at him as she slowly hovers next to him, then Ail decides to just fly the rest of the way down.

"So you guys thought I was dead?" asks Ail as he keeps descending next to Aya who replies "well I did write a report on it in the Bunbunmaru Newspaper. Kyo got a little depressed and Reimu got quite mad... what a rough week that was."

Aya laughs and Ail looks at her quite serious and says "well that's what you get for stretching the truth."

Aya sticks her tongue out and says "I got nothing to my defense this time... unless I kill you, that is."

Ail ponders for a moment, then says "but then you'd be a murderer, instead of a reporter."

Aya's face goes blank as she yells in her mind "_and he got me just like that!_"

Just as they reach the bottom, Momiji flies down in a hurry and excitedly says "Miss Aya, Miss Aya!"

When Momiji realizes Ail is there she starts to wag her tail, her ears perk up and shouts "Ail! Look Miss Aya, Ail is alive!"

Ail waves at Momiji feeling rather awkward that they really though he was dead.

Momiji's expression changes back to serious, and then whispers something in Aya's ears.

Aya's skin trembles as if she had just been shocked and says "err... sorry Ail, got to go. Urgent matters. Nice to see you. Say hi to Reimu for us, alright!" and then leaves in a big hurry, Momiji trailing along with her.

Ail shrugs then continues following the river downstream.

Shortly after starting his walk, the boy feels a presence, so he stops and hears a foot step about three feet away.

He stretches himself and says "ahh, I think I'll sit here for a bit."

He kneels next to the river and closes his eyes, then very suddenly, he places his hand on the water and splashes a lot of water to his left, revealing a small girl who shrieks as the water hits her.

She has blue hair tied on each side into ponytails and blue eyes, and wears a light-blue dress that's full of pockets around the skirt, light-blue boots, a green hat, and a large aquamarine backpack with a golden key on the straps in front.

After being discovered, the girl nervously backs away and gets behind the nearest tree she can find.

Ail stays where he is and narrowly opens his eyes; however he repositions himself to face the girl and says "you know, stalking others is not a nice thing to do."

The girl peeks from behind the tree and just stares at the boy.

Ail sighs and says "fine... my name is Ail. I mean no harm. Err... sorry for getting you all wet like that."

The girl reveals herself a bit more then says "I-I... my name is Nitori K-Kawashiro. I... was just wondering... what is a human doing here?"

After a little while Nitori sits next to Ail, who has fascinated her with his story.

After he finishes, Nitori asks "but don't you miss all those technological wonders!"

Ail smiles at her and says "a little... sometimes. I like flying better."

Ail stretches again and says "well, Miss Nitori, I better continue. I want to reach the shrine before nightfall;" then gets up and starts walking again.

Nitori gets up and asks "but why won't you fly? It's a lot faster."

Ail stops and looks back at Nitori and while smiling he says "if I did, I wouldn't have met you, right?"

Nitori smiles and says "yeah... that's right", then she waves at him as he continues to walk down the river.

* * *

Further down the river, after entering a forest, Ail starts to feel rather sad and almost ill, and the skies start turning dark, however he can still see the sun, and sounding a bit preoccupied he says to himself "what's this all of a sudden? It's as if I was being cursed. I better sit down or I might throw up..."

Getting closer to the water makes Ail feel much better for some reason, so he decides to walk as close to the water as possible.

After going through some bushes he spots yet another girl.

She has aquamarine eyes and hair that's tied with a frilly bow in front of her chest, and has another frilly bow on top of her head.

Her dress is dark-red with frills at the bottom and a big white kerchief on top, and the bottom of the skirt has aquamarine swirls and wears knee-length black boots.

She spots Ail and happily greets him, saying "well hello human... wait... are you human? Well, never mind. You shouldn't be here. This is a dangerous place."

Ail gets a little closer and says "really? I didn't notice."

Behind him is a trail of knocked out youkai and fairies all struggle to stand up while groaning, some calling their mothers.

The girl gets a little shocked and backs away, and after noticing this, in a friendly tone of voice Ail says "oh, I won't harm you as long as you don't try to harm me, alright? My name is Ail, by the way."

The girl lowers her guard and after calming down she replies "I am Hina Kagiyama... now I'm certain you're not human... then again, you do remind me of those two humans."

Ail laughs and says "pleasure to meet you, Miss Hina. By any chance you wouldn't mean Reimu and Marisa, right?"

Hina giggles and nods.

Ail looks around and asks "why is it so dark here?"

Hina smiles tenderly and replies "because I gather the misfortunes of humans and use them all as nourishment and energy for myself. You better move along before you get cursed."

Ail nods, however before continuing he concernedly asks "but are you okay with this?"

Hina bows and says "to worry like that for someone you've just met. I am fine with this, however what if I decide to attack you or eat you when you least expect it?"

Ail smiles back at her and gets closer, but Hina tries to back away; however he grabs hold of her hand before she can get away, then Hina panics and says "no, wait, you'll get cursed!"

As if not even listening, Ail replies "because I have a perceptive heart, and it feels the good from you."

Ail's hand turns purple; Hina tries to get free, however Ail's hand turns back to normal, the curse vanishes completely, and then some light that comes from Ail's hand gets inside Hina, then he continues saying "it also told me you needed some help, so I am giving you some help. Consider it a blessing from the Moriya Shrine."

Hina is amazed. Not only did he cancel the curse, he made half of the curses inside herself vanish, just like that, without draining her or harming her.

The air around them feels lighter and the forest turns brighter, then Ail lets her go and says "until we meet again, Miss Hina" and with a smile on his face, Ail continues his way.

Hina is in such a state of shock all she can reply is a weak "bye" while waving her arm, then she stares at it for a bit in wonderment.

Back at the Moriya shrine, half of the shrine has collapsed and as she rushes to the debris Sanae shouts "Kanako, Suwako, what happened!?"

Kanako says "I don't know... what the hell was that just now!?"

Suwako pops her head from under a piece of the roof with her eyes swirling as she says "auu~, how unfortunate~!" and above them, a black ball that flies aimlessly asks "is that so~?"

* * *

Ail finally gets out of the forest, then realizes he does not recognize where he is, so he decides to fly to get a better view, however he hears two girls talking just a few feet away, one of them saying "come on, sis. Let's go to the village!"

The other sounds a little bored when replying "don't worry; we'll get there in time."

One wears a long red dress that ends looking like cut-out leaves shapes at the bottom, has short blond hair and yellow-orange eyes, and also wears autumn leaves on her head as ornaments.

The other girl has red eyes, wears a yellow blouse with poofy sleeves, and a red dress that covers her half-way up her chest and black straps over the shoulders.

The dress has the pattern of wheat at the bottom, and her red hat mop has a cluster of blue grapes on the front.

Ail walks speedily to them then asks "excuse me; I'm a little lost. May I join you until we reach the village?"

The two girls look at each other surprised, then back at Ail, and then nod simultaneously.

On the way to the village, sounding a little embarrassed, Ail says "I'm sorry to trouble you like that. My name is Ail; and I guess I'm still getting used to this place after all. I can't recognize where I am."

The red-eyed girl replies "that's alright, it's fine. My name is Minoriko Aki, and this is my sister Shizuha."

Shizuha quietly says "hi" while waving.

Ail smiles and bows, then says "I see... you're goddesses too. No wonder you smell so nice"

Minoriko blushes and smiles, then says "how perceptive of you. Much more perceptive than some shrine maiden I know."

Ail quietly thinks to himself "_boy, Reimu's left a mark on everyone, it seems._"

Shizuha excitedly exclaims "look, the village."

Ail begins to recognize where he is, yet somehow he feels as though everything has changed.

Some trees look different, others seem to have moved, and even the sky itself looks different to him for some reason.

He turns to the Aki sisters and bows to them, saying "thank you very much for allowing me to accompany you to the village," and as he says this, from his chest, two green stars materialize and fly softly on to each girl's hands.

They look at each other, then at Ail who says "that's the second time those things pop out from there... what are those?"

The Aki sisters giggle and pat him on the head like a dog, and then Shizuha says "you're a good human. Don't worry about it. Just think of these as a god's meal."

Ail looks rather puzzled, but doesn't ask more as the villagers storm outside to greet the goddesses; particularly Minoriko.

Ail enters the village after the crowd and sees Keine talking to Mystia so he heads to them to greet them, however Keine looks at him strangely and nervously says "Ail...you're-. Where have you been? Never mind... you can tell me later. Please don't take too long to get to the shrine;" and with that she rushes off.

Ail looks even more puzzled, with question marks popping all around him when Mystia jumps to his arms to greet him and hug him tightly, then she looks at him and says "AIL! You're back at last! Are you going to fix this mess?"

Ail asks "Mystia...? So glad to see you. Mystia, what's been going on, what's wrong with Keine? What mess are you talking about?"

Mystia jumps from his arms and backs away, then nervously says "err... I almost spilled the beans, heheh. Reimu said 'If you see Ail, don't tell him anything' and I almost told you, but now... oh no, I told!" She gets very nervous and flies away in a big hurry.

Ail feels in his heart Reimu isn't very happy with him, but he doesn't have a choice.

She would find him anyway, even if he did hide from her, so he takes a deep breath and continues walking to the shrine.

* * *

After reaching the shrine stairs Ail begins to climb, and each step he takes makes him feel more and more nervous.

Finally, after arriving to the top he is greeted by Suika, who is wearing the same clothes as Reimu. She exclaims "Ail! Look, look, it's Ail, it's Ail!"

From inside the shrine he hears lots of voices that together exclaim "AIL!?"

Suddenly more than a hundred yin-yang orbs drop from the sky, and Ail manages to dodge the first barrage, however the rest fall right on top of him.

"Such violence" grunts the boy as he gets out of the mountain of yin-yang orbs, and as soon as he gets out a smiling Reimu greets him with a gohei to the head, smacking him continually while saying "Ail, why how _A~RE_ you! Let me **HELP**, you get **OUT** of that **_mess_**!"

When she stops, Ail's eyes spin and his head is full of bumps and while lying on the ground he says "so glad to see you too..."

From behind Marisa, Alice, Yukari and Yuka, Kyo's voice stands out when he shouts "let me at him, LET ME AT HIM! I'm gonna KILL him!"

Ail gets up and sighs just as Kyo gets right in front of him looking furious, then they stand still staring at each other in silence, and then Kyo breaks the silence by saying "you got some nerve showing your face around here again."

Kyo suddenly throws a punch at Ail, stops before it hits, then hugs his friend while saying "you're back, bro. I can't believe you're finally back, you IDIOT! Do you have ANY idea how worried we all were!?"

Ail spots Marisa, acting as if she has just seen him, then asks "Marisa? Why didn't you tell them about the battle we had at the Moriya Shrine? Kyo sounds like I'm back from the dead."

Everyone turn to her exclaiming "**WHAT!?**"

Ail, truly thinking she had told them, continues "yes... we had a little fight over there. Ask Rumia; she saw too."

Ail notices everyone is glaring at Marisa; Kyo with daggers in HIS eyes; while Ail looks more confused.

After that Marisa ends up beaten and literally planted face down in the dirt just outside the shrine.

It is now late noon, and everyone else is inside the shrine where Ail asks "...so that spirit that had me possessed... came from the Netherworld? But how is it that Yuyuko didn't..?"

Yukari raises her hand, stopping Ail from finishing his question, and then says "the spirit got you after you got out of Hakugyokurou."

Ail looks to his knees then raises his sight to Yukari's, but keeps quiet.

Looking very angry Reimu says "possession or not, you really made a mess for us. Remilia has been terrorizing the village looking for you, and she made ME and Kyo work like SLAVES at her mansion claiming it was as payment."

After Reimu finishes talking, Ail and Yukari both seem to get out of a trance at the same time, then Yukari smiles and says "well, I best be going now. Ail, remember what you must do now;" and with that she opens a gap, enters it, and leaves in a second.

Reimu looks quite annoyed and asks Ail "did I miss something?"

Ail looks nervously at Reimu and says "n-no, it's nothing;" then he looks at Yuka, who is gazing at him with bright eyes.

The boy slightly bows his head and asks "Miss Yuka, what's the matter?"

Yuka blushes a little, then Reimu answers for her "I don't know why she keeps visiting. She keeps bringing these dead plants and vases full of dirt... I think she's completely lost it."

Yuka glares at Reimu with the corner of her eyes, and then Reimu yells "you want a piece of this!?"

Ail gets up from the floor and heads toward the pile of pots and vases, then touches each vase and pot once, then after a few seconds all the plants come to life.

Kyo is extremely surprised; however Reimu looks causally at Ail and says "energy manipulation at its finest. I wonder what kind of youkai blood is in you. Oh yes, that reminds me; Eirin wanted you to know that your youkai blood is more dominant than your human blood."

Kyo, sounding a little disappointed, says "in my case it's the opposite. She said I probably reached the limit of my abilities by now. Not that I care. I'm getting out of here first chance I get!"

Ail keeps quiet as Yuka's face stands inches away from his, then just kept gazing at him while blushing slightly.

Ail stands completely still as he feels a little awkward, then says "Yuka, you best take these flowers back home now... she's almost here;" and somehow Yuka has all the flowers inside a small red cart and pulls it away while saying "thanks, I'll see you soon."

From behind Ail Marisa pops out from nowhere and scares him, making him jump high as she says "you sly dog. Yuka? That's one dangerous catch."

Holding his rapidly beating chest Ail says "thanks... I'll keep that in mind."

Marisa sits down next to Alice, who asks "who's almost here?"

Reimu keeps quiet as Ail answers "Remilia. She's caught my scent by now. All of you stay in here... do not interfere;" then turns to Reimu saying "Reimu, did you-?"

Reimu answers "once you get out, nothing gets in or out of the shrine."

Ail nods and says "good" then smiles and waves as he walks out the side exit of the shrine.

Kyo doesn't complain this time, but Alice and Marisa however, beg him to just run away, but he is already outside and Reimu's barrier activates.

* * *

Up on the early evening skies Remilia hovers ominously before she slowly descends to meet Ail at the Hakurei Shrine grounds.

She flaps her wings hard as she lands; smiling wickedly toward the boy and keeping her eyes on him while saying "how brave of you to come out of the shrine on your own. You have a lot to answer for, _human._"

Ail smiles and says "I know the trouble I caused, however I am sure you know by now that it wasn't entirely my fault."

Ignoring him, Remilia shouts "thanks to _you_, my sister's been behaving like a frightened human child, the gate guard has been working diligently, and the librarian's been locked up as she learns dangerous spells of mass destruction in her library."

Ail smirks, and then Remilia continues "not one of them smiles anymore. They look on, suspiciously at each other, except for the gate guard and my sister, who seem inseparable for some reason. What's worse, 'accidents' have been happening around Sakuya all too often."

Ail's smirk vanishes, replaced by a serious look as Remilia continues "I want them back. I want them all back! They won't listen to me; they won't come **_back_** to me. Bring them back, NOW!"

Ail quietly looks at Remilia as her eyes get glassy.

He knows she's holding back her sadness and replacing it with anger.

He flies up to the sky and says "how about this Lady Remilia? We fight now and if you win you can do whatever you want with me. Make me your eternal servant; kill me, whatever you want. However..."

Remilia flies up to meet him eye to eye, smiling wickedly and bearing her teeth for him to see, and her eyes keep glowing crimson as Ail continues "...however if I happen to win, I demand full access to your mansion; no restrictions whatsoever!"

Remilia smiles while saying "sure, why not? I'll beat you up and change your fate. You'll be my eternal servant. You'll even serve Sakuya... This will be my greatest victory ever!"

Ail and Remilia look at each other for a bit, then the battle begins as soon as the danmaku starts flying from both sides.

From inside the shrine they all watch the fight through one of Reimu's yin-yang orbs that was set up by Yukari to be a two-way radio and camera.

Alice suddenly says "hey... has anyone seen the oni?"

Reimu just shrugs and says "don't mind her, just watch."

Outside, above the shrine grounds, Ail lands every single shot at Remilia, however the vampire, surprisingly enough, misses miserably, which infuriates her to no ends.

They pause for a moment and with a smile Ail asks "had enough?"

Remilia's face turns red with rage and exclaims "you cocky piece of shit! Three of these should do it for you!"

Ail sweats while smiling and says "young ladies have such dirty mouths these days."

Remilia cools down then pulls something from her wristband and Ail sees what looks like pieces of paper for a moment, then they just vanish from his sight, then asks "invisible paper? What's that going to do?"

Remilia laughs and replies "oh... so you can't see them, can you? No worries. When this is all over, you'll be a maid's servant. Get ready to call Sakuya and **_me_** 'Master'!"

She grabs something from her hand and raises it above her head, then shouts "D_k Sign S_let _world!"

Ail thinks he's going deaf for a moment and shakes his head, then keeps looking at Remilia in awe as danmaku starts to materialize around her in some sort of pattern.

Suddenly a rain of red crystals shower straight at him from all around the sky, and Ail dodges the first and second waves, but by the third wave Remilia is shooting faster and faster, making him doge erratically until he gets hit by one of the showers.

Inside the shrine Kyo panics and shouts "Reimu, the spell cards! He doesn't know about them!"

Reimu signals Kyo to sit down and says "don't worry. Just watch. I'll fill him in later."

Even after being hit by that barrage of bullets, Ail never stops shooting his danmaku at Remilia, breaking her concentration, making her furious after her spell breaks.

She roars with frustration afterward then shouts "you should be BEGGING me to stop by now, so BEG!"

Ail smiles and says "is that all you got? Because if it is, you better call it quits now!"

"BAH!" grunts Remilia, then she grabs something from her left hand, raises the right hand above her head and calls "Curse _ _ Te_s".

Again, Ail can't hear her, however this time he is expecting something to happen; and it does.

Various knives fly in a circular motion away from Remilia and toward Ail while trailing red danmaku orbs behind them, however Ail finds them easy to dodge and for nearly a minute he just flies around, dodging the knives and the red bullets.

The spell times out, and with a confident smile, Ail says "aww... that's it? I was really having fun with that one."

Remilia is winded, however Ail's taunting infuriates her, making her scream to the air in rage before she raises both hands as if holding something with them, then shouts "HEAVEN'S PUNISHMENT! Get ready to fall, little man! St_ of _id"

On six different points and from Remilia herself, six laser beams fly around surrounding Ail and forming a net, leaving very little room for him to move, and from the laser's source points large blue danmaku orbs fly out aimlessly around the boy non-stop.

Ail almost gets fried, however the lasers vanish just in time for him to avoid the blue orbs, and sounding a bit nervous, he says "not bad... I'll show you one of mine now."

Ail closes his eyes and starts to focus his energy into the palm of his hand.

An orange orb forms on the palm of his hand and it expands a bit while the lasers form all around him again, and then the large blue danmaku come straight at him this time.

As the orbs surround him he throws the energy straight at Remilia, and the energy from that orb cuts through the vampire's own, even slicing some of the lasers on its way, then it impacts her, exploding on contact and making her fall down to the shrine grounds.

* * *

Shaken, Remilia struggles to get up, and manages to sit and face Ail, who slowly floats back down with a smile.

Furious, Remilia says "I deh-demand a rematch... uh."

Reimu comes out of the shrine and stands next to Remilia, then says "a rematch? You can barely move. You lost fair and square."

Remilia opens her mouth, but Reimu glares at her so all she does is cross her arms and pouts.

Ail lands in front of Remilia and bows while saying "I'll see you at the mansion tomorrow then."

Remilia laughs and says "no you won't. Nobody heard our agreement, and there's no way you can prove anything, so you don't DARE come near the mansion!"

Suika pops out from under the bushes around the trees, and looking quite childish and drunk at the same time she says "now I wouldn't shay that... I heard the who~~le thing -hic-. You agreed... hee could enter the mansion without any reztrictions if he won... and he won... -hic-."

Reimu smiles and says "well, looks like you just earned a regular visitor; that is unless you think you were cheated..."

Reimu again glares at Remilia, smiling this time, and Remilia gets scared, then quietly jumps to her feet and says "fine! Let him come. No restrictions! But just you wait. You'll become my servant yet!"

Remilia struggles to fly but she manages to hurry back to her mansion, and right after she leaves Reimu signals Ail to follow her, and so he quietly does.

Back inside the shrine Reimu and Ail sit on the living room table, and then Reimu says "I am sure that, by the look on your face, that you were able to see something in Remilia's hand, right?"

Ail nods then Reimu continues "and also, you could see her mouthing some words, correct?"

Ail quickly shakes his head and says "not just mouthing them like when I battled Marisa... I could hear her saying something, but the words got cut."

Reimu looks at Ail rather seriously, and then says "so you could hear something, right? I see. Then I think you should learn about spell cards."

Reimu grabs some spell cards of her own and places them on the table, then asks "Ail, can you see anything on the table?"

Ail looks hard and sees pieces of paper, however one of them slowly turns card-like and Ail's expression gives him away, so then Reimu smirks and says "that's a spell card. In order to use our special spells and powers during duels, we declare our spell in order to activate the card. The number of cards to be used per-duel should be determined _before_ the battle starts, and the one who uses all their spell cards, or gets knocked out loses. With me so far?"

Ail nods and asks "why couldn't I see these before? Why am I suddenly able to see these things?"

Reimu shushes him and continues "we'll get to that. Just as you just did with Remilia; a deal is made before a duel. The loser has to concede to the deal, and the winner is entitled to allow the loser a rematch... or not. Bear in mind that if a deal does not interest you, you can turn away from a duel, and more importantly, during a spell card battle, be prepared for the unexpected."

Again, Ail nods looking at Reimu, then she continues "as for the reason you couldn't see, let alone hear the declaration for spell cards before. This might be a wild guess from my part, but considering this is a rule of Gensokyo and its inhabitants, and you being outsiders and all that, there's the possibility that these rules didn't apply for you at first."

Kyo keeps staring blankly at the walls and keeps very quiet while Marisa and Alice have a tug-of-war with Suika for a book, however none comments about what has just been said.

Reimu sighs and gets up, and while walking to her room she says "look, it's late. Let's call it a night, alright?"

* * *

The next morning, Ail notices Kyo is acting strange during practice, then very suddenly Kyo says "I'm not like you, bro. Outside; back at our homes you didn't fit in at all. I became your friend out of pity at first, and our friendship grew, but now... Ail, I don't belong here."

Ail lowers his sight; he can't find any words to comfort his friend.

Kyo continues "I can't see, or hear those dammed spell cards, I can't fly and never will, I can't get used to these beings that live here around us like this... I want to go back home, Ail."

"But we can't! Not without Yukari's help anyway," says Ail, realizing a little too late he just said the wrong thing at the worst possible moment.

Kyo lowers his hands and calls off his energy, ending their training, then sits on the ground and looks at Ail seriously, then says "she said that you could get us home, Ail; that Yukari."

Ail feels no real surprise, yet fills his head with wonder.

Kyo continues "She said that you have the power to send us back home. I want to go back home, but I don't want to rush you. You do what you must, and I'll back you up as best I can, but when the time comes, I will leave this place and go back home. Understand?"

Ail feels a little nervous when Kyo says this; however he knew something like this was bound to happen.

Gensokyo is a wonderful place, and feels more like home the longer he stays there, however Kyo is right... when the time comes they would have to return home; even if he didn't want to.

Kyo smiles at Ail and says "relax buddy. You'll be fine, you'll see," and then gets up and says "when you're done at the mansion you come to the village. Reimu's orders."

Ail nods then looks at Reimu, who sits on the shrine's porch drinking some tea with Marisa, who apparently is bugging her with something.

Meanwhile, at the Scarlet Devil Mansion Remilia is having a word with Sakuya, looking deadly serious, she says "again, I summon all and only you arrive, Sakuya?"

Sakuya bows her head and says "I'm so sorry my lady. Not even threats worked this time."

Remilia calmly replies "it's fine Sakuya. As I told you earlier that Ail kid is coming today. He is allowed into the mansion without any restrictions, understood?"

Sakuya bows her head saying "understood, my lady", but Remilia calls Sakuya's attention and says once more "Sakuya... he is allowed into the mansion '_without ANY... restrictions_', **understood**?"

Sakuya's eyes narrow a bit and in a more serious tone she repeats "understood... my lady", then Remilia smiles and sips on some red tea Sakuya has just served her.

At the Misty Lake, Ail flies close to the water and passes his hands on the surface as he flies by it.

Arriving at the edge of the island, Ail is greeted by Cirno, who gives him a hug and also a bit of a frostbite and excitedly says "where have you been? I though you left forever! Oh well, look, look, I am such a genius! I built a D-C", then presents Ail with an ice-made DS.

Ail chuckles as he opens it up, but to his surprise it actually works, showing a badly drawn image of Cirno waving as the screens turn on, making him exclaim "what the..?"

While Ail stares in complete shock, Cirno shows him a letter from some company, and then says "I wanted to call it the Dee... D-S, but I got this weird letter begging me to call it something else, so I called it the D-C. The Dual Cirno"

He stares at the letter for a bit, then says "is that so~?"

Suddenly Rumia comes from behind Ail and smacks him behind the head with her hand, angrily saying "don't steal my lines! Hmph!"

* * *

After Rumia leaves Ail pats Cirno on the head and says "amazing work, Cirno. You'll have to excuse me, I have business at the mansion now," then heads to the mansion.

Cirno says "okay~! Just don't disappear again... oh and see if you can cheer up the gate girl. She's been so serious lately."

Ail turns around waves at Cirno while smiling at her, and as soon as he turns around his expression changes to serious determination and thinks to himself "_this won't be easy... It's possible she's lost trust in others... how to return something like that I wonder?_"

Arriving at the gate Ail immediately notices Meiling's change.

Instead of seeing the happy, smiling girl guarding the gate, he is greeted by a dark and angry gatekeeper.

She looks very disturbing as she stares at nothing without a trace of emotion left on her face, however Ail manages to see something hiding in her eyes.

Without looking his way and sounding dangerously aggravated, Meiling says "take one more step and it'll be your funeral, dirt bag!"

Ail stops and smiles, but he is greeted back with deep hatred glaring back at him from Meiling's eyes as she points at him and shouts "_YOU_! What are you doing here!? I should beat you to a pulp right now!"

Ail continues smiling and says "I've been allowed into the mansion, no restrictions. Remilia should-"

His speech is cut short by Meiling who throws a punch that Ail manages to dodge with ease, then angrily says "I have NOT been informed of such horrible news!"

Ail continues to smile, standing still and looking into Meiling's eyes, then asks "so Remilia didn't tell you anything? Or perhaps... you're not following orders?"

Meiling throws a kick that Ail has to jump to avoid, then she tries to follow up with a spin kick to the back of his neck, however Ail flips just in time, avoiding the impact.

Ail lands just out of reach of Meiling and says "let's make this interesting. You use one of those Spell Cards you use, and if you touch me even once I'll leave this gate, and never come back; deal?"

Meiling smirks, her eyes become filled with great hatred, however hearing him say something like that gives her a reason for that half-smile as she says "you'll regret this before you even know it."

Meiling pulls a card from under her vest and raises it high above her head, then shouts "Colorful Sign... with this, I'll finish you in an instant... Colorful Light Chaos Dance!"

Multi-colored crystals surround Meiling and then head straight at Ail.

He dodges those with ease, but Meiling smirks and chuckles, then another wave of those crystals comes out, however this time they are followed by many scattered crystals as well, all falling toward the boy in a manner quite hard to predict for him.

He is grazed, however none of the crystals touch him directly and for half a minute she continues the attack, but the spell times out.

Ail is almost caught off-guard by the very last crystal slowly flying his way, however luck is on his side and he trips with a root, avoiding the crystal just in time.

Meiling's face fails to hide her great disappointment as she slowly lets herself fall on her knees in front of the gate while whispering "I... I can't believe this..."

Ail gets up from the ground and walks to her, then kneels down beside her and says "you changed so much in so little time. What happened to you?"

She stares daggers at Ail then shouts "you said you meant no harm; yet you hurt the young mistress! My foolishness almost cost her her life!"

Ail's face turns a bit pale and blankly stares at the trees as he says "and that is precisely why I came back. I want to set things right. I don't understand why, but it seems I've only had bad tidings with the Scarlet Devil Mansion inhabitants since I first met Remilia. I don't know if it's possible, but..."

Ail extends his hand to Meiling, offering to help her up as he continues "...but I want to try and fix all that."

Meiling hesitantly accepts Ail's help, and then in an angry tone says "well you have a LOT to answer for before that!"

She opens the gate for Ail while saying "and don't think I'm letting you in alone, though. I'll be keeping my eye on you!"

Ail smiles and chuckles, and just before he goes in a near-by bush rustles, and from there Cirno and another fairy with green hair tied into a ponytail on the side, a blue dress with white trims and sleeves and golden wings pop out, then they quietly look at Meiling.

Meiling looks back with her usual innocent stare at them and says "Cirno... Daiyousei...? I- I haven't seen you in a while."

Daiyousei doesn't move, however Cirno gets a little closer to Meiling and looks at her eyes, then asks "is Meiling back?"

Meiling's expression changes to confusion then looks back at Ail who shrugs, then Meiling looks back at Cirno and forces a smile while asking "what? But I've always been here... right?"

Cirno jumps extending both her arms in the air shouting "Yay~! Meiling is back! Daiyousei, look; Meiling is back!"

Both fairies give Meiling a hug at the same time, making her smile for real now.

Ail looks away as he also smiles and thinks "she came back, and all thanks to these fairies."

He looks at the two fairies and the gate guard again then continues thinking "I guess all she needed was a reminder of who she was... or perhaps... Cirno..? I wonder... who you truly are."

Meiling smiles and pats both fairies on the head, then says "can you look after the gate for me? I need to keep my eye on _THIS_ guy here to make sure he doesn't cause trouble again."

While she says this a large red arrow pokes Ail's back.

Both fairies salute Meiling and say "Hai~~!" at the same time.

Cirno points at herself with her thumb and says "leave this to me. I am the strongest!"

Meiling laughs then says "then it's alright then."

She locks the gate behind her, leaving the two fairies stationed at each side of the gate, and as soon as she turns to Ail she frowns and in a commanding tone says "come. Let's do your errand quickly so you can get out of here as quickly as possible," and then she opens the door to the mansion.

* * *

As soon as they enter Ail spots Sakuya coming down the main stairs and immediately hides behind an ornamental plant next to the entrance.

Meiling instinctively hides too, then just as Sakuya leaves to the next room Meiling quietly asks "wait... why am _I_ hiding too?"

Ail whispers "because if Sakuya sees you with me, she'll attack you too!"

Meiling then says "Oh~~...", then gets confused and asks "but wait, didn't you say-?"

"Yes!" interrupts Ail. "I meant what I said. I am allowed into the mansion without any restrictions, and if what Reimu and I suspect to be true, good 'ol Remilia is making it so there are no battle restrictions either..."

Meiling looks at him suspiciously then nonchalantly says "yeah, that sounds like her."

Ail signals Meiling to move and both head down the corridor to the basement, and while they walk there the gate guard asks "why not fight Sakuya, though? If you beat the mistress, Sakuya should be no problem."

Ail quickly answers "I came here to solve the conflicts I caused, not cause more. Besides, from what I heard Sakuya's the only one around here who is still herself... meaning she shouldn't have any problems with me... however..."

Meiling gasps "the fairy maids" then pulls Ail inside one of the rooms.

They wait for the maids to pass by, then Ail swipes the sweat off his forehead and says "phew, that was close. Thanks Meiling. I owe you one."

Meiling realizes what she just did, then blushes and turns her head away with a "hmph!" then says "I-I only did it to avoid unnecessary conflict!"

Ail smiles as he looks at her, and then as if just noticing something important he says "did you know you're taller than me?"

Meiling blankly stares at Ail, pats his shoulders and says "please let me handle the surprises," and then they both laugh.

As they try to head out, the door closes on them and a yellow barrier blocks it.

* * *

Ail tries touching the barrier and gets shocked, then cries "Ow! What's with this...?"

From behind them, Patchouli comes floating from the center and above the bookshelves and says "welcome back to my library, Mister Ail. I have been waiting for you to return for a week now."

When Ail turns around and faces Patchouli he notices frustration in her eyes.

She continues saying "Meiling, you're going to be in big trouble if Sakuya finds out you're not at the gate."

Meiling answers "I'm just keeping him from causing trouble while he visits. I don't think-"

"Ahh, but that's the problem, isn't it?" says Patchouli, interrupting Meiling, then turns around and signals them to follow her.

They reach the center of the library, which is vacant; only a circle red carpet remains there.

Patchouli hovers close to the ground on the other side of the carpet and says "I hope you know why I brought you here."

Ail smiles and asks "tell me just one thing... why?"

Meiling looks as confused as ever as question marks flying around her head, while Patchouli smiles just slightly and says "last time you created many barriers around my library and on my door; barriers I couldn't bring down with ease. I have an arsenal of magic at my disposal, yet I found myself unable to break them down. In fact it took quite a lot of my power to bring a single one down and that was with you friend Kyo helping me. As a magician of my level, that's a big blow to my pride. I have been training diligently for your return and here you are."

Ail smiles and says "is that so~?"

Rumia comes from behind Ail, holding a spiked mace, and then hits him hard on the head, spilling blood all over the floor and saying "stop stealing my lines!"

Rumia flies away with a "hmph!" then Ail miraculously recovers fully and says "alright then... err... any rules; deals...?"

Patchouli starts summoning energy to herself while saying "I'll use three of my best spell cards on you. No deals; just a test of my powers against yours."

Ail summons energy to him as well and says "Meiling, you should find cover."

Meiling looks around and hides just behind a large bookshelf, then looks on at the battle about to unfold.

A small gap on the ceiling of the library reveals a pair of eyes watching silently at Ail and Patchouli; meanwhile Sakuya feels a strange presence coming from the library and takes an alternate route to it.

As if in an instant, Sakuya is already inside the library and watches as Ail and Patchouli begin their magical battle, so she decides to just watch for the time being.

* * *

Back at the village Kyo looks around, seemingly expectant of something.

It is now mid-day and the village is bustling with activity.

A woman stands behind Kyo, before asking "so you really think he's coming?"

He turns around with a goofy smile and says "well of course, he promised he would," then turns around again and stares at the sky.

Sounding worried the woman says "it has to be tonight, or we'll have to wait for the next one!"

Reimu walks by and looks at the woman, then stands next to Kyo and says "Keine... he said he'd come. Just calm down and have some more sake, alright?"

Reimu hands Keine some sake then turns around to join Marisa and Alice who are setting up some sort of kiosk.

Kyo stops her then says "wait... no sake for me?"

Reimu laughs and says "you remember what happened last time you got drunk, right?"

Kyo blushes tomato red and says "I just had a little too many. I'm still dry here!"

Reimu sighs loudly and then pours a little sake on Kyo's cup, saying "fine, fine, but if you do that again, I don't know you!"

Kyo drinks the whole thing in one gulp, and as he turns to help Mystia set up her shop he thinks "_maybe it's too early to be drinking this stuff?_"

Above them a little black ball swirls around and says out loud "is that so~?"

Kyo gets pissed, a vein pulsates on his forehead and beats hard, so he grabs a small rock from the ground, throws it to the little black ball and knocks it out of the air, then he turns around in a dramatic pose, points his finger up to the sky while placing his left hand on his waist as the black ball falls, and then said ball explodes when it hits the ground, making a dramatic effect of wind blowing against the boy's hair.

* * *

To be continued...

Characters, scenarios, themes and spell cards belong to ZUN -Team Shanghai Alice-

Ail and Kyo were created by Willie G.R.

JUN 21 2009

Written by

Willie G.R.

**-EDITED on MAR 25 (2010?) and MAY 30 2013 by Willie G.R.-**


	6. Missing Person

Reimu sits quietly on the shrine's porch while drinking some tea and enjoying the peaceful moment.

She turns around and looks inside the shrine very suddenly, and it is empty.

She sighs and sips on some more tea while thinking to herself "_I can't believe how quiet and peaceful these days have been... Not even Marisa's come to visit. Sure am gonna miss this silence._"

She suddenly feels a powerful presence and a subtle source of energy that is still considerably strong.

She rushes inside the shrine and gets her gohei and a few charms, and a very special spell card, "Fantasy Heaven", then hides behind the doorway.

Just as the two energy sources land right on her shrine, she thinks to herself "_what a pain..._" then rushes outside, however to her surprise the two presences she felt belong to none-other than Ail and Kyo.

"Oh, it's you...is it?" she says sounding a bit disappointed as she stares at the boys.

Scowling at Reimu Kyo says "well of COURSE it's us. We're right here, aren't we?"

Reimu sighs with disappointment and thinks "_I thought Kyo would have at least learned some manners_;" then she says "as rude as ever, I see."

She notices Kyo clenching his fists, however she ignores him and says "so did the ghosts give you a hard time?"

She notices Ail is completely lost in his own thoughts, however Kyo starts talking before she can say anything about it. He says proudly says "it was Rough training, but we mastered it."

He suddenly points at Ail and says "but something happened with him and the ghost princess. He's completely lost in his world right now though. He just won't tell me what's wrong"

Reimu looks at Ail, then back at Kyo and thinks to herself "_these two... can be a real pain_."

Reimu heads back inside the shrine, places her gohei by the table then picks up a broom, then comes back out and hands Kyo the broom while saying "well, if you're going to be staying here, you know the drill... Here, sweep."

Looking incredibly surprised, Kyo shouts "WHAT! You lazy shrine maiden, we just came back from heavy training! Give us a break!"

Reimu smiles at Kyo in a sweet and friendly manner, but Kyo knows better, and decides it's wiser to keep quiet, but he doesn't, and foolishly says "don't give me that look, missy! We trained hard so we have earned a few comforts!"

Reimu's smile turns to a dangerous glare, then she calmly says "you are so right... here' let me get you more comfortable..."

Kyo crosses his arms, thinking he's won this round, and says "well that's more like- augh!"

A yin-yang orb crashes hard and mercilessly onto his face, lifting him three feet off the ground and falling on his back and making his head bounce twice.

Kyo gets up roaring furiously at Reimu, who is ready to retaliate, however she stops Kyo by slightly pushing her hand on his chest, then looks at where Ail is and asks "Suika?"

Kyo stares at Reimu in shock, but slowly looks to where she is looking to, then walks to the little girl; completely ignoring the shrine maiden now; then asks "who's the little runt?"

Ail gets a bit nervous and starts sweating, then says "err... you shouldn't have said that", and just as he finishes his sentence he moves away, then Suika replies "Runt, huh? I'll show you 'runt'!"

Suika punches Kyo right in the kisser and sends him spinning in the air toward Reimu and falling unconscious right on top of the maiden in a very suggestive manner.

Reimu nervously and furiously shouts "HEY! Get OFF me!", and tries to push Kyo off her just as two clicks catch everyone's ears.

Aya, the black winged crow tengu flies up while yelling "Ayayayaya!" and boasting about writing the truth.

While trying to push Kyo off Reimu shouts "Aya, you BITCH!" Just wait 'till I get my HANDS ON YOU!"

Aya replies "now that's not the way to talk to your betters, Miss Shrine Maiden. See ya," then signals goodbye with a hand gesture and flies away, Ail following soon after.

* * *

Suika gets close to Reimu and Kyo, stares at them with a childish smile, and then casually asks "need help?"

Reimu has had enough and screams with rage as she sends Kyo's unconscious body flying straight at Suika, knocking her down as well.

Reimu is steamed; her face is beet red as she narrows her eyes and glares around, then she turns her eyes to Suika's and in a dangerous low tone of voice, she says "wake him up... and sweep the leaves... understood!?"

Suika springs up holding a still unconscious Kyo, and nervously replies "YES MA'AM!"

Reimu heads into the shrine where Yukari is patiently waiting for her and giggling to herself.

Reimu looks at Yukari as though she knew she was there already, and then the border youkai smiles and playfully says "I placed your letter right where they would find it."

Reimu breathes in deeply, calms down, and says "thanks... So you still refuse to help them come in?"

Yukari giggles again and says "no... I'll just leave that task to someone else."

Reimu sits next to the table while facing Yukari from across it and says "nobody else can open gaps through barriers as easily as you can, so who...?"

Yukari shushes Reimu and hands her a letter, saying "give them this. You'll see soon enough."

The letter is addressed to Ail and Kyo, and as Reimu takes the letter and reads their names Yukari says in a serious tone of voice "you must give them this, and you must NOT interfere, okay?"

Reimu is about to complain, however Yukari's narrows eyes show how serious she is about this.

Reimu knows something is up, but can't tell what it is yet, so she just nods, and Yukari's childish smile and eyes return almost instantly, then says "I'll be going now. Seems you have more guests coming by. Bye~!"

Reimu shouts "w-wait," however Yukari has already disappears through one of her gaps.

Reimu hides the letter inside a hidden pocket in one of her sleeves, then kneels down by the table and begins to meditate as though actually trying to work for an answer.

* * *

Outside, Kyo and Suika argue about what to do with all the leaves they have just swept.

After Kyo finishes his complaint Suika says "...but the wind will just blow them back here if you leave them there!"

Kyo face palms while gritting his teeth and says "you just want me to do all the work, Miss _Oni_! Just figure something out yourself for once."

Suika stares at him almost childishly, takes her gourd and drinks something, then looks at the leaves and suddenly starts spitting fire, burning the leaves to a crisp.

Kyo looks very surprised as he says "never thought of that..." then the scent of Sake reaches him.

He looks at Suika nervously, sweats a little, and then asks "w-where did you get sake?"

Suika shakes the gourd in front of Kyo so he can hear the liquid inside.

Trembling, Kyo says "i-it's, uh been a while since I had some sake. Can...I-?"

Suika takes out a small cup, pours some sake in it, hands it to Kyo, then happily says "let's see how much can you handle, little man!"

"You're ON!" shouts Kyo with a contented look in his face.

Just before they begin their drinking contest, Satori and Orin arrive at the shrine gate, and Orin immediately shouts "hello~! Miss Reimu? ...Sis, are you here?"

Satori spots Kyo and Suika, walks over to them, and then says "so you're Kyo, Ail's friend."

The boy straightens up and says "you know me? Err... yes I'm Ail's friend."

Satori looks up at Kyo and says "you're a lot taller than in Ail's memories."

Kyo looks a little scared and slightly backs away, then Satori says "_she's the one that reads minds... Is she reading mine?_ That is what you are thinking. Don't worry; I didn't come to read your mind, just to speak with Reimu. Oh, I see, she's inside the shrine. We'll let ourselves in, thanks."

With that, Satori and Orin, who keeps smiling widely at Kyo while waving her tails, head to the shrine's living room.

Kyo feels violated, so Suika, noticing his discomfort, offers him a larger cup filled with sake, which he immediately drinks in a quick gulp then drops down on his bottom next to a laughing Suika who keeps patting him on the shoulder while saying "just don't think about it too much."

Inside the shrine, Satori, Orin and Reimu sit on the table, holding on to cups of tea while conversing.

Reimu sighs, and then says "so you need someone to go and fix that bird-brain's mistake..? Such a pain. But if it's as serious as you say, then I have no choice."

Satori stares at Reimu with those emotionless eyes, then says "it would be best if you send Ail... but I see. He has other matters to attend to. A pity, really. Orin really wanted another race against him."

Reimu looks quite annoyed and is about to say something, but Satori beats her to it and says "_'The mansion can wait. I'll send him there first, and **then** he can go to that creepy mansion._' However Miss Reimu, that youkai's request seems of great importance, and would be most unwise to go against it."

Reimu stares daggers at the mind-reading youkai, then suddenly smirks and Satori blushes beet red.

Orin looks worriedly at Satori, then notices the grin on Reimu's face and casually asks "hey sis, what did you just do to Miss Satori?"

Satori gets up; her face turning pale and her mouth wriggling a bit; and says "Orin, there are some things best left unknown. I just wish I could control my powers sometimes."

As Satori and Orin head out, Kyo and Suika, both seemingly drunk, stumble inside the shrine, laughing and drinking some more, then they fall on their butts on the farthest corner behind the table, laugh, and continue drinking.

Reimu stares at the two and just places her hand on her head and sighs.

Satori and Orin both bid farewell, then leave the shrine by walking down the stairs and taking flight halfway down.

Shortly after, Ail returns with the photos Aya had taken and gives them to Reimu, who tears them to many tiny shreds with a contented look on her face, and after she's done she places a surprisingly warm hand on Ail's shoulder and says "thanks Ail, I really needed that."

* * *

The next morning Reimu stays inside the living room while Ail and Kyo entertain the youkai that have come to play at the shrine by telling them stories of the outside world and the technological marvels unavailable in Gensokyo.

Reimu stares at Yukari's letter, and after thinking about it for a while she decides to give them the letter.

Once the youkai leave talking amongst themselves about what they just heard, Reimu walks to the boys and hands Ail the letter, exchanging awkward glances with them.

After they both finish reading the letter Reimu says "and she made me promise not to butt in. Not that I would be able to. There's something fishy going on in the subterranean caves again, and me an Marisa are going to investigate... I was hoping Ail could go... but... it's such a pain, really."

Ail and Kyo look at Reimu and Kyo asks "this wouldn't be that crazy vampire's home, would it?"

Reimu smiles and thinks to herself "_crap, they remembered,_" and then says "I'm so glad you remembered. Now you won't let your guard down for a second, right?"

Kyo gulps, but Ail just stares seriously determined at the letter, somehow looking dead serious, then says "don't worry, we're not gonna die."

For a moment, Reimu feels something that frightens her, and it's coming from Ail, however Marisa arrives and loudly yells "Reimu, come on, let's go play underground ze!"

Reimu sighs loudly and flies up, then waves at the boys as she and Marisa leave.

Marisa notices the worry in Reimu's face and asks "hey Reimu... what's with that face, ze?"

Although lost in thought Reimu replies "for a moment I thought I felt... never mind. Let's go."

* * *

They arrive at the cave that leads to the subterranean and fly straight in.

Yamame and Kisume are playing "Heroes of the Cave", wearing black masks and capes, and get on the outsider's way; however Marisa smiles and points her Hakkero at them.

Yamame and Kisume don't know about that octagonal box's power, so they looks at it curiously, and without warning Marisa smiles as she shouts "MASTER SPARK~!"

A large beam flies from the wooden octagon making Yamame and Kisume scream in unison, then both get blasted right out of the way and down to the ground.

Reimu, looking uninterested, keeps on flying alongside Marisa and they soon arrive at the Palace of the Earth Spirits, where they are greeted by Satori who is waiting for them at the gate.

Not even waiting for the girls to land Satori calmly says "I am afraid the situation has gotten worse. Three of the vents that help cool down the hell fires are stuck. Okuu and Orin are doing their best to keep things under control, however if those vents aren't opened soon the land above will be destroyed. _What a pain_? Hakurei, this is really serious."

At the same time Reimu and Satori ask "**if it's so serious, why are you so calm?**"

Reimu grabs her hair as she groans, then angrily says "argh! Stop doing that!"

Satori covers her mouth with her right hand and quietly giggles, then leads the girls into the palace.

They arrive to the end of the long corridor, and as she opens the door to the back of the mansion she says "you, black and white, put that back!"

Marisa grunts as she hands over a book she had hidden under her hat, and then says "jeez, I was only borrowing it."

Reimu looks at Marisa with annoyance and says "honestly, you should learn some manners."

Marisa stares back at Reimu with narrowed eyes and says "you're one to talk. Remember Mayohiga?"

Satori looks at the both in disbelief, places her hand on her forehead while shaking her head, then sighs and says "really, you two sure are peculiar characters."

* * *

Reimu and Marisa enter the hole on the courtyard that goes down to the deeper levels of the underground, and already they feel the intense heat coming from deep in there.

Sounding worried Reimu loudly shays "Marisa, if things get too hot use the cooling charm and get out fast, alright?"

Marisa nods with a straight face and shows Reimu the blue charms, then smiles as she usually does; with outmost confidence.

After reaching the bottom, they quickly realize the lava levels are ridiculous.

Like Satori said, it's just a matter of time before a real disaster.

Okuu flies over to the girls as soon as they exit the hole on the ceiling, and looking quite fresh she gleefully greets them "Reimu, Marisa, welcome. So glad you made it! Please follow me, there is not much time left."

Flying over the lava in the middle of a massive room Orin looks quite worried at the closed vents around her, but when she looks toward the girls she greets them with a casual tone of voice, saying "sisters, you came... Hurry, we have to open those three vents on top!"

Marisa immediately pulls her Hakkero from under her hat and confidently says "leave them to me, I'll get them open in no time!"

Orin panics, flies in front of Marisa, and frantically waves her arms around while desperately saying "no, no! If you do that, it will cool down too fast for Okuu to keep it balanced... the whole place could collapse."

Reimu, looking sweaty and quite tired already, sighs and says "if you have a plan, share it already and let's do it. I think I'm starting to get baked here."

Orin stares at the girls with a funny w-mouthed face, then explains "each vent has five holes. Each one of us is going to open one hole at a time by shooting it with our bullets. We start over there, then there, and finally, there."

As she explains, Orin points at a vent to the left, one to the right and one above their heads, then continues "Okuu will maintain the heat leveled with her nuclear powers so it won't cool down too fast. Reimu-sis, you take the one on the left, Marisa, you take the top one and I'll take the right. Remember, we do this one by one each, starting with Reimu, then me, then Marisa, alright? Okuu, you ready?"

All nod at the same time, then Orin says "good. Let's take our positions!"

Reimu takes the left vent, Orin reaches the right one, Marisa flies high to reach the one on top one; feeling a little cooler after getting away from the lava; then Okuu takes the center of the room with a content smile on her face.

Orin gives Reimu the signal, and it begins.

Using her needles and surrounding them with her magic, she opens the first hole of the vent, and already the hissing sound of the room cooling down surrounds and echoes all around.

After waiting a bit Orin shoots her vent with blue danmaku balls, then, after impatiently waiting, Marisa blasts hers with some spread stars, however she opens two at the same time by mistake.

The entire places starts to rumble hard when the temperature stars dropping too fast, so Okuu shoots a few large balls that look like miniature suns into the lava, evening out the temperature.

Orin places her right hand on her chest, sighs with relief while lowering her cat ears, then shouts "sis, be more careful!"

Marisa feels a little sheepish after being scolded, smiles goofily while blushing, and says "Sorry..."

Reimu silently stares daggers at her, but remains silent.

Orin gives the signal one more time and Reimu continues her job, opening the second hole with her needles, followed by Orin, then Reimu, and then Orin a second time, then Marisa, who is using a thin blue laser this time.

Slowly, they open the remaining holes, and the lava slowly subsides until it finally reaches a satisfying level after Marisa opens the last hole of the vent.

They all head up back to Satori's mansion celebrating a job well done, but Reimu suddenly stops, her face turns red, then she takes a deep breath and screams as loud as she can "don't call me Red and **WHIIIIIIITE!**"

Marisa, Orin and Okuu back away quickly, but Reimu only sighs, smiles very naturally, and as if nothing happened at all she says "sorry... I suddenly felt like screaming, that's all."

Satori, who stands just beside the door, welcomes them into the mansion and invites all to sit at a large table with some tea and cakes already set.

As they drink their tea and eat their cakes Okuu explains "...and I thought that using a little extra power would make it warmer... I didn't mean for it to go this far, I'm sorry. I really thought it was a good idea..."

Okuu sits on her chair with a sad expression on her face and full of bruises and bumps, along some charms stuck on her head.

Reimu stares dagger at Okuu as she angrily says "well next time, think a little harder before doing something so reckless! Wait, on second thought don't think at all!"

Marisa then adds "but those vents... that was dark magic they had on them."

Reimu clicks her tongue and says "it's probably nothing... however... well, now that I think about it a little more, I feel something's not right. Who could have powers like that? More importantly, why would they try something so dangerous as causing a meltdown down here?"

Marisa's eyes turn serious for a moment as she says "I don't know, and honestly, I wouldn't want to meet someone like that. Whoever is capable of trying, and almost accomplishing something so dangerous like that must be quite dangerous."

Satori looks casually at the witch and the shrine maiden, and then calmly says "we will keep our eyes open and inform you if something else happens."

Reimu looks serious as she nods at Satori's statement, then gets up from her chair and says "Marisa... we gotta hurry... something's up at the mansion."

Marisa looks at Reimu with a confused expression; even tilting her head cutely to the right, but quickly realizes the maiden is very serious about it so she only nods as a reply, and then they both leave after a quick bow to Satori.

Orin and Okuu look very puzzled at each other, then turn to face Satori who tells them "something very bad has happened above ground. She just felt it and went to deal with it."

Orin looks worried as she turns her head toward the room's exit, but Okuu looked as lost and confused as ever.

* * *

At the Scarlet Devil Mansion, Meiling arrives with Flandre on her hands to Remilia's room.

Remilia is already awake when they come in and turns to face them furiously, but when she sees her sister trembling and sobbing while holding on tightly to Meiling she panics and asks "Wha... what's wrong!? Flan!"

Meiling looks at her mistress with anger and rage, and forgetting her place, or who she's addressing to, she shouts "a mere human with brown hair and dark clothes came. The bastard did this to Flan. He's down at the basement right now!"

Remilia hurriedly says "Meiling, leave Flan on the bed and come with me, NOW," then runs to the basement so fast her blur is long gone before Meiling even turns around.

Meiling frowns; her eyes fill with blind rage before she loudly shouts "I'm not leaving little sister alone! Go by yourself;" and then sits on the edge of the bed, places the young blonde vampire on it, wraps her under the sheets, then comforts Flandre by gently patting her head.

Remilia was long gone and did not hear Meiling's defiant words, to the gate guard's luck, but even so she knows her defiance will have a costly price.

Down at the basement Yukari has made one of her special sudden appearances soon after Ail was sucked inside the strange blue portal, and Remilia arrives just seconds after.

"YOU," shouts Remilia as she looks at the mess the basement corridor is in.

Blast marks, broken ornaments, the floor broken in various places, and two intruders in her home.

Remilia loses her temper and lunges at Yukari; claws bare and fangs ready; but a gap opens right in front of Yukari that sends Remilia though another gap that slams her face-first against a wall.

Yukari glares at Remilia and says "calm down, you little brat!" She then looks at Kyo and says" Kyo, is it; that gap was not mine, I hope you realize that already."

Kyo thinks back and gasps when he remember the portal... the gap he saw behind Ail was blue, and didn't have the red ribbons the gaps Yukari opened just now have.

Kyo holds his head as he shouts "then who the HELL opened that!?"

Yukari thinks for a moment, then closes her fan as she casually says "your friend, Ail, got possessed by a dangerous entity, however it remained dormant to avoid detection by Reimu, or anyone else that could feel it's presence... somehow, though it felt no threat from you, miss librarian."

Patchouli keeps quiet and lowers her eyes as though in shame, but keeps her thoughts to herself.

Yukari turn to face Remilia; who is still dizzy on the floor; then says "when that little destructive sister of yours tried to kill Ail the entity tried taking over, seeing as Ail got so weak. Understand Remilia, it was not Ail who tried to kill your little sister; it was the entity."

Remilia just keeps growling and won't get up from the floor as she sorts out her thoughts.

Desperate for answers, Kyo shouts "who opened the damned portal, gap, whatever the hell you call it?"

Yukari opens her fan again, covering her mouth as she says "it was opened by what little was left of your friend. If you can't figure that one out, then stop asking questions and think for once."

Kyo gets a bit shocked, but manages to quickly sort out his thoughts, then calmly says "he's just full of surprises... Any idea where he went?"

Yukari shakes her head slowly, making Kyo lower his head as he softly says "that's not what I wanted to hear."

Reimu and Marisa arrive at the basement just as Yukari says "it's time I left. Reimu will take care of things from here," and then she goes inside one of her black gaps and vanishes in a second.

Reimu notices Yukari, but disregards her and asks "no gate guard, no Flandre... and no Ail? Where are they?"

Remilia gets up from the ground, shouting "that USELESS gate guard disobeyed me! How DARE SHE! I am going to KILL her!" She then flies away with haste, zipping between Reimu and Marisa.

The witch blinks twice, then asks "what got into her, ze?"

* * *

Upon arriving to her room Remilia finds Meiling sitting on her bed's edge humming a peaceful lullaby while holding Flandre once again; tears falling from her eyes down her cheeks and to the ground.

Flandre has fallen completely asleep, so Meiling gently places the sleeping vampire on Remilia's bed once again, and then heads outside where she will take her mistress' punishment.

Remilia grabs her door and throws it as hard as she can so that it make a loud bang, but Meiling places her arm on the door's arch; quietly grunting as the hard wooden door almost breaks her arm.

Meiling pulls her aching arm out of the doorway and signals her mistress to be quiet by pressing a finger to her lips, then she slowly closes the door and faces her mistress with her face full of tears as she says "I know what I did... I accept the consequences, but please not here. You might wake her up."

Regardless of her servant's plea Remilia grabs Meiling by the neck and forces her kneel, making a loud thud on the carpeted floor.

She then aims her claws at Meiling's face and launches her fury straight at her, but stops at the very last possible moment, then balls her hand and knocks the gatekeeper to the ground with a powerful punch to the left temple.

Afterward, Remilia heads straight to the mansion's entrance at a quick and steady pace.

Back at the basement, in a low tone of voice, Reimu asks "so... that's how it happened, huh? But she's alive, right?"

Sakuya and Kyo nod, though Marisa looks angry, regardless of the good news.

Patchouli keeps very quiet the whole time, and Kyo just keeps looking down to the ground.

Sakuya looks as elegant as always, doing her best to not show her emotions, however Reimu knows she is holding back her real feelings with great effort.

Patchouli slowly walks back to her library, and after entering she slams the door hard behind her, even Reimu gets surprised at this.

Inside the library Patchouli is greeted by Koakuma, who stares at the magician with a bit of worry and asks "what is it Patchouli-sama?"

She looks at Koakuma and quickly says "we have work to do."

* * *

Reimu, Marisa, Sakuya and Kyo head to the front gate of the mansion; keeping silent the whole way; and just before Kyo exists through the front door along with Reimu and Marisa, Remilia rushes by and grabs him by the back of his shirt, and then throws him back inside while furiously shouting "you are NOT getting out of here until you have paid ALL the damages your friend caused, UNDERSTAND!"

Reimu quickly steps back inside, shouting "what is your problem, little brat! Ail was possessed. You can't possibly pin-"

"Shut it!" shouts Remilia so loudly and sternly even Reimu takes one step away from the vampire.

Keeping her eyes on Reimu Remilia continues "this is MY mansion, MY home. They trespassed without my consent and almost killed my sister, not to mention the DAMAGE they caused to the basement! That boy isn't getting out of here until all the damages are paid for!"

Remilia's fury is so intense, both Marisa and Reimu feel it as it overwhelms them, and find themselves unable to find any way to convince Remilia of letting Kyo go.

Reimu manages to calm down and thinks for a second, then says "if I am able to pay, will you let him go?"

By now Sakuya has walked to her mistress' side, hoping to calm her down with her presence, and it seems to be working.

Remilia scoffs and sounding slightly calmer she asks "with what money, the donations from your shrine?"

Remilia looks back at Reimu's shocked face, then sighs to calm herself down, and in her usual tone of voice she says "he'll stay and serve inside the mansion until the damages are paid for, but if you can find the money I'll set him free. I promise I will not harm him while he is here;" then she turns around and heads toward Kyo.

Sakuya bows her head at the maiden and the witch as she closes the front door, then Reimu and Marisa, feeling defeated in many ways, head back to the shrine with long and thoughtful faces.

For five days Reimu would find some work around the village to get money, then give some to Remilia, however she got tired of it, so Remilia tells her "if you want to hurry this up, work around here for a few hours a day."

Reimu is incredibly pissed off.

Remilia has her wearing a red maid's outfit, and even has had Reimu give her one bath, which the vampire enjoyed only too much.

On the sixth day Reimu catches Yukari speaking with Kyo about Ail and his powers.

Kyo looks grim when she says to him "I won't help you get back home. It's too soon for that. Ask Ail later instead, as I'm sure he'll help you."

Yukari is about to leave when she suddenly turns to Kyo one more time and says "look, if I take you home now you will have learned nothing. You'll see, I promise you'll understand soon. And this paper is that tengu's work, so don't believe everything she writes on it."

With that, she leaves through her gap, glancing behind herself at Reimu, and then the maiden enters the scene, grabbing the newspaper from the floor.

She eyes the paper then smiles that deadly smile of hers that suggests murder, and says "don't worry. I'm sure she's just stretching the truth again. We'll see Ail again soon, you'll see."

Kyo looks at Reimu and says "yeah, I know... I guess..."

Reimu puts on a naughty face and asks "so... is it true you saw Sakuya while she was changing in the bathroom?"

Kyo's face turns beet red and his nose blows a jet stream of blood, then Reimu laughs hard at the sight and says "just be grateful you are still alive. Now come on, we're done here. Remilia gave the 'ok' for us to go"

Kyo looks very confused, but shrugs and heads to the guest room he's been staying in to change back to his normal clothes.

After he and Reimu change they quickly head out the door, and just before closing it Reimu yells "thanks for everything. See you next time!"

All the way inside the mansion Remilia lies on her bed on her stomach with a pained look on her face as her back is steaming red, full of hand marks from Reimu, who smacked her hard several times.

Sakuya is happily applying ointment on her mistress' delicate back with her nose dripping blood without stop, and every time Remilia twitches the blood under Sakuya's nose increases, and her cheeks turn redder.

Outside the mansion's gates, away from the silent gate guard, Reimu stops Kyo and says "let me go get Marisa. I think she can carry you on her broom."

Kyo stops her before she lifts off, and while looking at her with a stern and very depressed look on his face he says "Reimu... I failed to save my friend. In this world... I am nothing. If this had been a street fight, or... Reimu, is there no way you can get me home... before Ail comes back?"

Reimu looks back at Kyo and tries to force a smile, but she can't, so she says "I'm sorry, but I can't. Look, I don't know what's going on in your mind right now, but running away won't solve anything. We'll talk some more when we get you back to the shrine, alright?"

Kyo nods, let's go of Reimu's shoulder, then Reimu leaves to look for Marisa.

* * *

After a bit of waiting Cirno comes by, sniffling while rubbing her eyes, and after noticing Kyo there she grabs his left arm asks "do you know what's wrong with Meiling? She won't smile, or even talk to me."

Kyo pats Cirno on the head and says "something happened that really upset her. She's just angry right now. Maybe later, she'll come around. Just give her some time."

Cirno stares at Kyo, wipes her nose with her forearm and making a loud sniffle, then says "I sure hope so."

Kyo sits on the ground and remains there talking to Cirno for a while, calming her down while waiting for Reimu and Marisa to arrive, an after what felt like a few minutes, he spots them over the sky.

Kyo says goodbye to Cirno as he and Marisa lift off on the broom, and the cheered-up ice fairy waves back and rushes back to the lake.

While they fly to the shrine Marisa says "careful you don't catch the stupid from Cirno... she can be dangerous, if you catch her stupid" then laughs.

Kyo does not respond, so Marisa continues "look, I got nothing against you guys, but Ail really hurt Flan, and she may be insane an all that, but she didn't deserve that. If I see him, he's going to get it."

Reimu glares at Marisa, and then says "that's if I don't catch him first. Possessed or not, he gave us a really hard time."

Turning sight forward, Reimu suddenly remembers something and says "oh yes, I forgot... it's time we told Kyo about Spell Cards, seeing as he's been here for quite a while and getting into a lot of trouble."

Kyo stares at Reimu and Marisa with wonderment and confusion, but remains silent.

* * *

After arriving to the shrine, Marisa immediately asks "hey Reimu, how about some tea, ze?"

As Marisa and Reimu enter the shrine Kyo quietly heads to the back of the shrine, walks past the storage house, and after a short walk, he comes across the lake, and after staring at it for a moment he asks himself "a lake? Why didn't I see this here before? Oh well."

After shrugging off his surprise Kyo quietly sits by the lake's bed-side and closes his eyes, then begins to meditate, something he hasn't done much of lately.

During his meditation he sees Ail next to a blue colored portal that leads to the outside world, however between him is a shadow blob that blocks Kyo from reaching Ail or the portal, then that same shadow cuts Kyo in half, and just as it does the boy wakes up and springs up while screaming.

He looks around while breathing hard, then touches himself and says "yeah... still in one piece." then he realizes... there a giant turtle with a beard staring at him.

Kyo backs away as fast as he can until he bumps his back against a tree, then the turtle says "young man, don't be afraid. I just wanted to see who it was... Please, call me Genjii."

Kyo stares back in shock, and then he remembers where he is and sighs to calm himself down, then says "I just can't get used to this place."

Genjii looks at Kyo and says "I see, so you're not from Gensokyo I take it. Look, young man, you can't expect to get use to new surroundings with that attitude. You need to breathe, relax and just take one step at a time."

Kyo nods quietly, still unable to absorb the fact that he is talking to a giant bearded turtle, then says "th-thanks for the advice... my name is Kyo by the way."

Genjii bows his head, then says "well Kyo, remember to take things nice and easy from now on and you'll fell a whole lot better, you'll see. Now, it's too hot out here, so I'll just head back inside the water, ok? Take care, Kyo... oh and please tell Reimu to come by more often. I miss her sometimes."

Kyo nods and watches Genjii as he goes back into the water, then sighs and relaxes after the turtle leaves, but now contemplates Genjii's words while staring at the darkening sky.

* * *

One week later, while Kyo sweeps some leaves around the shrine, two girls come to visit.

One has short violet-blue hair and red eyes, and wears a white and red shirt, a long black skirt, a black hat with a red bow with two long ribbons extending out like antennas, and also has a white and red shawl all around her arms and blouse. Somehow, both the shawl and blouse glow scarlet.

The other girl wears peaches on her black hat, has long blue hair, red eyes, wears a pink blouse and apron with multi-color frills, a blue skirt and brown boots.

The one with the shawl looks at Kyo and presents herself and her partner, saying "Good day. I am Iku Nagae, and this is Tenshi Hinanai."

Kyo slightly bows and calmly says "I am Kyo. Welcome."

Iku continues "we're looking for Reimu, is she here?"

Looking a little annoyed Kyo replies "she's at the back of the shrine, probably drinking tea or taking a nap."

Suddenly, a yin-yang ball falls on his head, and then Iku says "ah, I need to talk to her, so I'll be heading there."

When Iku finds Reimu, drinking tea while kneeling on the porch at the back of the shrine, she says "good day, Miss Reimu. I've come to warn you, something odd is going on over at the old subterranean hell. I was wondering if you felt this too."

Reimu gulps the tea in her mouth, then calmly replies "yes, I have felt it too. There's nothing we can do yet, except wait. Iku, I hope you and Tenshi will help when the time comes."

Iku nods and says "you may rely on us. Now, since I delivered the message, I'll be going now. Good day Miss Reimu;" then bows to Reimu and heads to the front of the shrine, were Tenshi has picked a fight with Kyo.

Tenshi pokes Kyo on the chest and smiles mischievously while saying "you call that a punch? A human like you could NEVER harm a celestial like me!"

Kyo backs away, scowling while asking "a celestial? You don't look like one! Where are your wings?"

Suddenly Tenshi starts to cry and shout "you mean snot! I'm never speaking to you again," then flies away to the sky while bawling.

Iku sighs then follows her, waving goodbye to Kyo.

The boy stares back with anger and confusion, then says "what weirdoes," to which Reimu replies "you have no idea."

Kyo gets so shocked and surprised after finding Reimu right next to him as suddenly as that, that he sends the broom flying off his hands.

That same week Reimu hunts down Aya and gives her a beating every time for the articles on Ail's supposed death.

Somehow it makes Reimu feel relaxed and at ease every time.

Two more weeks have passed, and now Remilia has taken to terrorize the village every night, claiming she is looking for Ail, and this has been going on for four nights already.

Reimu and Suika have been stopping her of course, but Reimu is getting quite annoyed of the frequent attacks and is considering taking a stake with her the next time the vampire attacks.

* * *

Eirin arrives on the fourth day of the week to the shrine with a surprise for Ail and Kyo.

The Lunarian doctor stands right in front of Kyo and excitedly says "I examined both your blood samples, and it seems that being in Gensokyo has heightened the dominance of the youkai blood in Ail. For you, however... Well, your human blood dominates your youkai blood, yet you can still do things normal humans could never hope to accomplish."

Kyo looks at Eirin with a slightly disappointed look on his face and says "well, that's fine. It's not like I plan on staying here forever anyway."

Reimu appears from Kyo's right, smiling while patting his shoulder, and says "at least you're not a complete loss."

During the early afternoon of the fifth day Marisa arrives to the shrine with Alice, and behind them, for the fifth day in a row, Yuka brings in another dead plan in a pot and Yukari, who has JUST popped in out of nowhere, is hoping to get some tea from Reimu.

Suika is running around the shrine while wearing Reimu's clothes, ignoring Reimu who keeps yelling "Suika, take those OFF already!"

From outside, she hears Suika saying "OKA~Y," but Reimu suddenly gasps and yells "not in PUBLIC," then there is another "OKA~Y!" from Suika.

Suddenly they hear Suika saying "Ail! Look, look, it's Ail!"

All inside the shrine say "huh? AIL!?" except for Marisa, who chokes on her tea out of the surprise.

They all head outside to greet Ail who lies under a mountain of yin-yang balls, and is being beaten mercilessly by Reimu, and then they all let Kyo go through and greet his friend, who has been missing for a whole month now.

* * *

Characters and scenario all belong to ZUN -Team Shanghai Alice-

Ail and Kyo were created by Willie G.R.

JUN 22 2009

Written by

Willie G.R

**-EDITED on DEC 19 2010 and MAY 31 2012 by Willie G.R.**


	7. Chapter 5

In the library at the Scarlet Devil Mansion, danmaku flies all around.

Powerful shots impact everywhere, leaving black spots all around except on the books.

Patchouli and Ail stop for a moment, and then the boy asks "hey, aren't you worried about all these books?"

Patchouli calmly replies "very nice of you to worry, but you see all my books are magically protected, so there's no need to worry. Shall we continue?"

Ail nods with a smirk on his face, and then Patchouli pulls out a Spell Card from inside the book she is holding; and this time Ail is able to see it clearly.

"Sun Sign, Royal Flare!" declares Patchouli.

Suddenly large red danmaku orbs materialize between her and the boy.

The bullets move in a circular motion, making Ail have to dodge with great care as the shots intertwine and spread a lot.

"No bad" says Ail. "I guess I'll have to focus a little more."

He begins to shoot those orange danmaku balls that explode on impact straight at Patchouli, then suddenly one of her red bullets lands right on his face, however he is just fine.

"What the hell? I barely even felt that," exclaims Ail while looking surprised.

Patchouli sighs softly, then says "that's because I missed your hit box."

When Ail looks at his stomach there's a reddish ball there. He looks back at Patchouli looking both surprised and scared, and then she says "yours is almost as small as Reimu's. This will be tough."

Again, Ail looks shocked and a little scared, but the battle continues until the first spell card times out.

There is a glint in Patchouli's eyes as she takes out the second Spell Card and says "my improvement is evident, however your improvements is also quite evident."

Ail smiles and bows as he thanks Patchouli, and then she continues saying "however I am not done yet...Five Elements Sign, Philosopher's Stone"

Five books materialize around the magician, each shooting danmaku of a different element: water, fire, wind, nature, and metal; and each book shoot the bullets in its own pattern.

Ail is grazed a lot of times but he keeps shooting his danmaku at her, clearing her spell card just as the very last wave of bullets completely surrounds him.

"Phew" exclaims the boy, "that was too close for comfort."

Showing no emotion at all, like always, Patchouli takes out her last Spell Card of the match and says "this... I trained very hard to perfect this. Let's test this against the real thing. Metal and Fire Sign, Dragon's Last Breath!"

On her left hand she holds an enormous metal blade, and on her right one a fire blade of the same size.

She brings them both together and forms a spiritual dragon made of metal and flames.

The dragon's body disappears, leaving only the neck and head roaring at Ail.

He gasps as he backs away; looking quite frightened.

The dragon's head shoot metals spikes at him, while from the neck small fire blades and crystals fly out spinning, generating more crystals that home in on the targeted boy.

Sakuya keeps watching the fight until she notices Meiling hiding beside Koakuma behind one of the bookshelves while watching the fight as well.

Sakuya is amazed that Meiling looks just like her old self again and eventually smiles to herself and thinks "_I never thought I'd see Meiling again. It also seems lady Patchouli is coming back to us. The kid is really doing it. Now all that's left is Flandre._"

Sakuya leaves the room in an instant and heads to Flandre's room, opens all the locks, smiles, and then she hides herself in the darkest corner she can find.

* * *

Back at the village Kyo is a little drunk.

He has taken off both of his shirts and is flexing his muscles every time he accomplishes even the tiniest request.

Somehow, Mystia, who is putting bandages on Rumia, can't take her eyes off Kyo for a second and blushes occasionally when she gets too caught up on his flexing.

She isn't the only one as Mokou, who hides behind a house, keeps staring at Kyo without blinking once while her cheeks turn pink.

In the meantime Reimu hides inside Keine's school, looking pale and scared of going out while saying "he's gone overboard again."

Keine smiles and says "don't worry, I exchanged Suika's gourd for one full of water."

Reimu looks at Keine a little worried and asks "but what if they find out?"

Keine giggles and says "we run and pretend we don't know them;" and then she winks.

Reimu smiles, but just then Suika enters the school looking angry while sniffing around.

She finds her gourd and places the fake one right on Keine's desk while the teacher tries to smile, however Suika's eyes glow red and are filled with fire, making Keine gulp and lower her head.

Suika takes a swig from her gourd, leaves, and then Reimu says "to the shrine?"

"Right behind you" immediately says Keine before following Reimu out a window and to the shrine.

* * *

Back at the mansion's library, Ail is having a very hard time dodging all those bullets flying at him.

His face is cut and singed and his shirt is a bit tattered, but he keeps on fighting.

Suddenly, Patchouli starts coughing and collapses, letting out a pitiful "mukyu~;" however the dragon's head continued to attack; now more violently.

"Crap, she lost control... no matter. Now it's my turn then."

Aiming for the dragon's head, Ail shoots his focused shots and weakens it considerably.

Koakuma panics and flies rapidly to her collapsed mistress, and then gets her away to safety alongside her and Meiling, who offers them popcorn after they hide behind the bookshelf again.

Ail dodges the dragon's head bullets as best as he can, and manages to weaken it some more.

One last focused shot and the dragon's head makes it vanish into thin air, but not before nailing Ail on the arm with one of its metal spikes just before it disappears.

"Dammit! That hurts" shouts Ail as he pulls the metal spike out of his arm.

He heads to where Koakuma, Meiling and Patchouli are, and even though she's little dazed, Patchouli manages to sit and say "I guess I still need to learn to control that one. And at least you managed beat it."

As she says this, Ail extends his hand to her to help her up.

"That was just awesome," exclaimed Ail, ignoring the pain from his small wound.

"That last spell card... how could you summon something so fierce and manage to keep control that long?" he finishes asking.

Meiling grabs Patchouli from behind and with a smile she says "because she is Patchouli Knowledge."

After restoring the library Patchouli sits by her desk says "and so you beat me, and without having to use any Spell Cards. I am impressed, and I am glad to know you really are _that_ strong."

Ail and Meiling both look rather confused at each other, then back at Patchouli who explains "when you came by last time I saw you as a mere human with admirable powers, however your power was nowhere near my own, and yet I couldn't take down your barriers. This battle has proven those barriers were no fluke, that you really are that strong, and for that I am grateful."

Ail smiles at Patchouli and says "I understand now. But why were you locking yourself up like that? Remilia has been really worried."

Patchouli's eyes reveal her sudden realization that she hasn't seen Remilia for almost a month. She then uses magic to restore Ail's clothes and heal his wounds.

Ail smiles widely while saying "maybe I should learn that spell."

He then bows his head to Patchouli and says "you better go to Remilia and let her know you are ok now."

As he turns around to leave, Meiling trails behind, saying "you're still under my watch, mister!"

Outside the mansion, a bandaged little black ball is flying aimlessly as she says the familiar "is that so~!?"

* * *

At the one of the doors of the basement's corridor, a little blonde vampire peeks her head outside of her room.

"Oh no... it's that same feeling again... and the door's open... what should I do?" Flandre speaks to herself with fright, before quickly shutting the door when she hears some voices.

She then hides under her bed holding a tattered teddy bear that's losing its stuffing as tightly as she can.

"I just don't understand, why exactly did you attack Flan like that last time?" asks Meiling,

Ail sighs and responds "I was being controlled. It was a sneaky spirit that was hiding inside me. It tried to kill Flandre when I got too weak to control it."

"Ohh, I see. Well, you're still in hot water, so you best behave when we get there" scolds the gate guard.

Arriving at Flandre's door Meiling opens it and, to her surprise, all the locks are already opened.

"Oh my, the locks are all open..." says Meiling as she enters the room while softly calling "little sister...? Flan, are you here?"

Flandre peeks from under her bed, and when she sees Meiling she jumps from under the bed and straight on to Meiling, making a loud cracking sound as she lands hard on the redhead.

Ail hears the sound and covers his eyes, thinking Meiling has just been split in half by the force of the impact; however she is fine, and is hugging Flandre back.

"Flan" says Meiling "you have a visitor I want you to meet. You can come in now!"

When Ail slowly reveals himself Flandre remembers everything that had happened during his last visit.

She starts to hyperventilate and holds tightly to Meiling while trying to bury her face on the guard's chest.

Ail looked down with sadness as Meiling comforts the blonde vampire. "Don't worry, this time I am here. He won't harm you."

* * *

Slowly, Flandre lets go of Meiling as she is put back on the floor.

Ail kneels and offers his hand to Flandre. She looks at his eyes, frightened at first, then very suspicious.

She slowly approaches the boy and grabs his hand, shutting her eyes tightly and looking away out of fear, but Ail keeps his hand open until Flandre looks back at him.

After she's a little calmer he slowly closes his hand and starts shaking it softly and saying "hello Flandre. My name is Ail... The real Ail that is."

Flan looks back at him and asks "you... you don't want to break me?"

Ail lightly shakes his head, then Flandre smiles weakly, and that's when Sakuya reveals herself right behind the supposedly-hated boy.

"Err... S-sakuya... heh heh. W-What a surprise" says Meiling very nervously.

"Meiling; those replacements you left at the gate just froze a really nasty intruder. I might consider making them permanent replacements" says Sakuya, making Meiling gulp loudly.

Outside, Cirno and Daiyousei have just frozen Aya, and Momiji is pulling the large iced crow tengu away while Cirno says "and don't mess with the strongest again, you hear?"

Daiyousei's eyes sparkle as Cirno poses valiantly. To their right Rumia looks on and asks "is that so~?" and gets frozen immediately, of course.

Back inside, Sakuya places a knife on Ail's neck and says "you sneaked in again and came back to the scene of the crime, just like some common criminal."

She then looks at Flandre and asks "would you like to get rid of him young mistress?"

Flandre looks nervous while she thinks, but then says "no; wait..."

Sakuya smiles and takes the knife off Ail's neck; the boy sighs in relief; then she says "alright, I'll spare him. Besides he's been restoring the mansion to the way it should be. And you, Meiling, were just making sure he behaved, so I'll overlook this negligence this time."

Meiling places her hand on her chest as she sighs with great relief.

* * *

Flandre is no longer afraid of Ail and is sitting on his lap quietly as Sakuya and Meiling talk.

"I am so glad to see you back to you old self, Meiling. I really did miss scolding you" says the maid.

Meiling places her left hand behind her head and chuckles as she says "aww, I'm sorry... where did I go again?"

Sakuya smiles and says "the Mistress will be happy to know everything is back to normal."

"Not yet..." interrupts Ail.

When Sakuya and Meiling look at him, then at Flandre, they realize what he means, and then the blonde realizes everyone is looking at her and asks "what? What is it?"

Ail gets her up to her feet, then he gets up and asks her "Flandre? Are you afraid of using your powers?"

Flandre turns her sight away from Ail's and down to the ground then slightly nods.

Ail kneels to look at her straight in the eyes and says "look, what happened last time... you shouldn't be afraid of your powers. You just need to control them, and you should be just fine."

Flandre refuses to raise her cute red eyes and just stands still.

Meiling is about to grab Flandre to cheer her up, however a blue portal opens very suddenly just beside Ail.

All look a bit surprised while Ail peeks his head in, and then pulls it back out.

"It goes to the village" he casually says, then Flandre's face sparkles and her eyes twinkle.

"Well can't you close it?" asks Sakuya, but Ail looks quite puzzled and says "ME!? How can I do that? I don't even know how that opened up in the first place!"

Sakuya looks at him suspiciously and asks "so you don't know?"

Ail looks to the ground then says "look, I don't know HOW I am even doing this... honestly."

While Sakuya and Ail converse, Flan quietly sneaks inside the portal. Meiling notices a bit too late and jumps right in after her and shrieking "Flandre!"

By the time Ail and Sakuya realize this, the portal starts to close, however Ail is quick enough to get in just in time.

Sakuya panics when she hears her mistress' footsteps heading her way, but by the time Remilia arrives, Sakuya is pretending to be cleaning the room.

"Sakuya, where is Flan?" asks the vampire.

Without turning around so that Remilia couldn't see her nervous face, Sakuya says "I'm sorry my lady, but I haven't seen her today."

Remilia looks around and before she leaves she says "well, keep a look-out. There's no telling when that Ail might show up."

"Yes, m'lady" replies Sakuya.

Just as Remilia walks by Patchouli's library, the doors open up.

"Lady Remilia" says Patchouli, "will you come here for a moment? I need to talk to you."

Remilia, looking like a lost child for a moment, nods then heads into the library without question.

* * *

At the village, everyone is in complete shock at the sudden appearance of Flandre, Meiling, and then Ail, whom sit on the ground after falling out of the gap.

Flandre stands up and looks around, then notices so many people and youkai in one same place, she panics and begins to shiver; however Meiling gets up just in time for the little blonde to rapidly crash on to her, and so they hold each other tight.

Ail gets up last, then spots Kyo and says "w-we're here~" as Marisa shouts "Flandre? Meiling; what are you two doing here!?"

When Flandre hears Marisa's voice she almost instantly launches towards the witch and knocks her down with a big, bone-crushing hug.

Ail covers his ears while thinking "_the pain!_"

Marisa's body shakes violently as she pats Flandre on the head and says "he-hello there... F-F-Flan..."

Flandre giggles and calms herself down, then asks "why are there so many people here? Are they playing?"

Kyo gets in front of the awestruck crowd and asks "Ail, what are they doing here?"

Ail is holding his forehead while saying "I am not sure myself, dude."

Meiling looks around and foolishly says "oh, it's a festival!"

Flandre perks up and asks "a festival? What's that?"

Suika walks in and says "WHAAAAT!? You don't know what a festival is!? My name is Suika, and I'll be your festival teacher, now come with me."

"Oh no" shouts Meiling. "You're not getting her out of my sight... does anybody have an umbrella I can borrow?"

Ail is about to accompany them, but Kyo holds him and asks "is everything ok?"

Ail nods and says "this was no accident, I am sure;" then Kyo responds "Keine and Reimu need to talk to you, so before you leave you should go find them."

Ail nods again then follows after Flandre, Suika and Meiling.

* * *

Even though Meiling has found an umbrella, she and Ail are surprised to see how resistant to the early noon sun Flandre really is.

Suika takes Flandre to the kiosks while saying "...and this is where people sell foods and other items others might want, like charms, toys, some have games, and others have little shows for children, like Alice over here, who's going to be doing a puppet show."

Flandre's face twinkles as the excitement climbs on her. "Meiling; look, look it's a doll. She looks so cute!" says the childish vampire as she runs towards Alice and Shanghai while pulling the gate guard along with her.

Ail takes this chance and asks "Suika? It's autumn... why are we having a festival?"

Suika takes a good gulp of sake from her gourd and answers very simply "but why not?"

Ail feels as though he's just been defeated, so he stops asking questions.

Flandre and Meiling are asking Alice about her dolls and puppets when one of the dolls falls and rips open.

Witnessing this makes Flandre feel really horrible as the memories of how she used her powers to break her toys and; other things amongst the many; rush right back into the front of her head, and so she almost starts to cry.

Alice notices her and says "don't worry, I can fix it," then she picks up the doll and in just seconds she mends it with amazing skill, making it look just like new, then she shows to Flandre.

It is a really cute doll that looks just like Shanghai, only this one has short blonde hair and wears little glass slippers.

Flandre smiles when looking at it, then asks with concern "can people be fixed like that too?"

Alice sighs and says "no, little one. I'm afraid that people and youkai cannot be fixed so easily then they get hurt."

Flandre drops her head a slight bit, and the worried Meiling asks "little sister? What's wrong?"

"N-Nothing!" replies Flandre, then spots a kiosk of sweets and runs to it; the gate guard trailing along after thanking Alice for her time.

Ail follows them with a stumbling Suika right behind him.

"Excuse me, how much is that sweet potato?" asks Meiling just when Ail catches up.

The woman from the kiosk says "it's 150 yen;" so Meiling takes out the money and pays the woman, and then Ail asks "Ran, is that you?"

Ran smiles and says "why, it's mister Ail. It's been a while, how are you? Who are these?"

Smiling back, Ail says "I'm doing well. This is Meiling Hong, the gatekeeper of the Scarlet Devil Mansion, and this Flandre Scarlet, the mansion owner's little sister."

"Nice to meet you" says Ran while bowing her head and holding her hands together under her sleeves.

From behind her comes Chen who exclaims "Hi~ Ail, how are you?"

Ail smiles "I am well Chen; and why are you in a kiosk?"

Ran chuckles and says "it's good for making a little extra money, plus it helps Chen meet new people."

"I see" says Ail just as Flandre eats the last bite of her sweet potato and flaps her wings contently saying "yumm~! This is good."

Ail smiles and continues "say, have you seen Reimu and Keine? Nobody seems to know where they are."

Ran laughs, and then says "they ran away from Suika and Kyo a little earlier. They said they were heading to the shrine."

"The shrine, I see..." thoughtfully says Ail. "Thanks Ran, I better go there now. Glad to see you and Chen again. Take care"

He then turns to Meiling and Flandre and says "would you like to come with me? I could use the company."

* * *

On their way to the shrine they somehow manage to lose Suika; who turned to Kyo and to another drinking challenge; and while walking to the shrine Flandre looks a little sad as she stares to the ground and says "my powers are so scary... I thought I was playing; and I though..."

Meiling tries to say something, but neither she nor Ail can think of anything to say, and so Flandre continues "why didn't they tell me I was hurting them so much? I was having so much fun breaking things, but I never knew how much it hurt; that when they broke they left forever..."

Ail stops, turns to Flandre and holds her shoulders, and then says "you can't be afraid of your powers or they will control you, you understand? You were locked up for 495 years in that room, nobody ever told you anything because you refused to listen. It is not your fault, however."

Flandre looks up at Ail as he continues "you were just having fun, like any child would. But now, Flandre Scarlet, now you have to learn to control those powers. I know they seem scary, but if you can control them, then, and only then will you be able to find your own peace again."

Flandre turns her sight away from Ail's, so then he asks "how about a demonstration of what I mean?"

Ail turns around and with Meiling to his left takes a fighting stance, and in front of them stand two large fox youkai; one glowing yellow, and the other glowing red.

"Look brother. One for each; and a snack to boot!" says the yellow fox youkai.

The red one only snarls, and just before their battle starts Ail says "now watch Flandre, as we use our powers to defend ourselves and those we care about!"

Meiling rushes to the red youkai and kicks it hard, sending it flying toward a tree, and Ail focuses his shots that; although are a little slow; do great damage to the yellow youkai.

Both wild youkai get back up and lunge toward Flandre together, however Ail and Meiling get in their way, and the gate guard sends the yellow youkai back with a hard punch, while Ail blasts the red youkai to the air.

Meiling rushes toward the red youkai and punches and kicks it until it backs away, and Ail stars shooting smaller, but faster bullets as the yellow youkai, then flies towards it and tackles it hard.

Both youkai yelp and run away with their tails between their legs, and this leaves Flandre's eyes widely open as she exclaims "wow... that was SO~ COOL! But why didn't you break them if they were trying to eat us?"

Meiling smiles and says "because we control ourselves in order to avoid unnecessary killing. We can't let our powers control us after all."

Ail then gets closer to Flandre and says "the only reason I would ever 'break' anyone would be if they were going to hurt someone I cared for, and I found no other way to protect that someone."

Flandre looks a little confused, but then Ail and Meiling both pat her on the head and the redhead says "I think you'll understand soon enough."

As they continue on their way to the shrine Flandre holds Meiling's and Ail's hands.

* * *

Once at the shrine they hear Reimu saying "aww~, what a lovely family! Sorry that I missed the wedding."

Meiling and Ail look at each other and quickly realize what Reimu meant, then their faces turn bright red; however Flandre looks at them very confused.

Reimu is sweeping leaves around her donation box and grinning at them, but then Flandre jumps to Reimu yelling "it's my red and white sis!"

A quick moment later, Meiling and Flandre go around the shrine to look around and admire a few things Ail and Reimu talk.

"So, you opened another gap... and to the village, for that matter" says Reimu in a low tone.

Ail nodes and replies "why do you guys insist it was me? If I had-."

Reimu stops him then and says "I know you and Yukari had this chat already; that day when you came back from the Moriya shrine."

Ail looks at Reimu very surprised, and then the shrine maiden tells him "I'm not an idiot Ail. I know you and Yukari were talking to each other through your minds. You should be able to control that ability as well; if you train enough of course."

Ail sits next to the donation box with a grim expression, so then Reimu sits beside him and asks "what did you two talk about?"

Ail, still looking very grim says "she did all the talking. I just listened. She said: _By now you must know that you have powers very similar to mine. You are able to open gaps between barriers, but unlike me you lack the much needed experience. I could teach you, you know. Well, whatever, I'll leave that choice up to you. You are lucky, you know? If my friend Yuyuko didn't like you so much, I would have killed you right here and now, but if I did that she wouldn't speak to me again. Well, whatever. Take your time with that; you have more than enough time to make your choice. Oh yes, before I forget, your friend Kyo wants to go back home. If you don't do it, I might consider sending him back... but maybe I'll have a bit of fun and send him to a mountain top before sending him home~._"

Reimu smiles and says "that's Yukari for you. You know, she usually doesn't lie when it comes to teasing others."

Ail lifts his head up and says "maybe I should return back home with Kyo, you know? I've been causing a lot of trouble around here. Not just for the Scarlet Devil Mansion, but..."

Reimu looks very surprised at his answer, but doesn't say anything.

By now the sun has set and is being replaced by a beautiful full moon, and looking at it Reimu says "oh yes, you better go inside. Keine wants to talk to you now that the full moon's out."

Ail looks at Reimu rather confused, then nods and complies.

* * *

When Ail enters the shrine he notices Keine is looking outside a window, looking straight at the rising moon.

He notices her dress and the highlights on her hair are now green and her hat is gone, replaced by two large horns, the left one adorned with a red bow, and on top of that she also had a soft-looking green tail.

She turns around and looks at Ail, who is blushing a bit, and then asks "surprised?"

Ail gulps then says "a little... You look cute, though."

Realizing what he just said the boy's face turns bright red while Keine giggles, blushing a bit as well, but then get serious again. "Ail, I am going to offer you... a choice."

Ail becomes serious as well and asks "a choice?"

For a second he thinks she is going to try to kill him, but thinks she would have already tried that some time ago.

Keine continues "while the full moon is out I have control over Gensokyo's history... I could rewrite yours and Kyo's history to make it as if you never set foot inside here."

Ail thinks for a moment. His face fills with doubt and fear. He doesn't want to leave, but maybe, if he forgets about Gensokyo; maybe that would be the best choice.

No incident with Flandre, no powers, no magic, no depressed Kyo.

He then asks her "what if you only rewrote Kyo's history?"

Keine shakes her head and says "You'll probably die when Remilia first attacks you. Maybe even before that. But think about it. Gensokyo will not have existed for either you or Kyo."

Ail ponders for a second and says "memories from the heart seldom vanish to thin air."

Keine looks very surprised while saying "you are most wise... perhaps this is a bad idea also. You are right. There is a possibility you, particularly you Ail, could remember everything."

Ail sighs and says "the offer is very tempting but..." he smiles as he continues "if we did that, Flandre would never get out of that room, none of us would have ever met, and it's probable that those two girls that knocked us in could be in mayor trouble, or dead if they were the ones that entered."

Keine looks at Ail very surprised as he continued "...and fate has a funny way of working. What if someone else... someone without control attacked Flandre, then what? What if Remilia goes berserk toward someone else? I am very thankful for the offer, but the risks are too high. Only one choice left."

Keine smiles at him as he continues "I'll have to learn to use my powers and abilities, so I can get Kyo and myself back home."

Ail's smile vanishes when he finishes.

Keine walks toward him and says "I think Kyo won't mind if you stayed behind... he knows it in his heart that this is your home now. Gensokyo itself has accepted you. You can now see spell cards and hear the declaration of use, and I am certain that some old things seem like new to you, correct?"

Ail nods and smiles, then Keine smiles back.

* * *

Outside the shrine Flandre and Meiling are ready to go back home.

The boy smiles at them and says "I'll go with you. Someone needs to explain Remilia and Sakuya about your late return."

Meiling and Flandre laugh, but suddenly a faint voice is heard and look away from the shrine.

"Cheeeen! CHEEENN! Where are you!?"

It's Ran, and she is crying and calling out for Chen when she spots Ail as soon as she reaches the top of the stairs, rushes to him, grabs him by his arms, and shakes him very violently while asking "have you seen Chen? The oni started shooting danmaku in the air when she was napping and she got scared, and now I can't FIND HER!"

After he stops seeing double the boy asks "maybe you should ask Reimu."

Ran yells "she's handling that crazy oni and some frog girl at the village, you have to help me!"

Suddenly, from the direction of the Forest of Magic Chen's call can be heard faintly. "Ran-sama~! Where are you~!?"

Without wasting a single second, Ran rushes at great speeds to where Chen's voice is coming from.

Ail looks at Meiling, who nods at him just before he asks "Flandre, will you help us find Chen?"

Flandre nods and says "let's go find her, big brother!"

Ail is a bit surprised and looks at Meiling, who just shrugs with a puzzled look.

When they arrive to the entrance of the Forest of Magic Meiling asks "are you sure you can see in there? I know humans can't see very well in the dark, so..."

The boy looks a little surprised and says "actually, I can see quite well. I can see quite far too."

As they head inside the forest, a gigantic orange fox youkai with two tails gets in their way and swipes its claws at Meiling.

She's sent flying against a large tree, knocking her out from the force of the impact, then before Ail is even able to move it flashes light directly into the boy's eyes to blind him, then swipes it's claws at him, sending him right next to Meiling.

Still blind and barely able to get up Ail yells "Flandre, run! Get help!"

Flandre looks at them both and calls for them. "Big brother, big sister; get up!"

The massive youkai looks at her and says "I'll come and deal with you soon dear; Right after I am done with your _brother and sister,_" then runs to where Meiling and Ail are.

Ail, still blinded, tried to walk to where Flandre is, but the youkai simply sends him back with another swipe of its massive claw.

The beast opens its mouth to ready itself to eat Meiling and Ail in one bite, however it stops.

Flandre holds something in her hand as she says "I have the eye of your tail in my hands... leave them alone and I'll let you go!"

The youkai tries to turn around but Flandre clenches her hand, and the monster's left tail blows up, making the monster howl in pain, getting the attention of everyone at the village.

Suika and Reimu are the first to fly toward the source of the howl, followed shortly by Kyo, Keine and Mokou.

Suwako, who hovers above the houses, only complains "aww, over already?" then heads back home.

Back at the forest's entrance Ail is shouting "Flan!? Flandre, are you alright!?"

Flandre responds "I should be the one asking that! Can you see yet?"

The youkai turns to Flandre as Ail responds "just a little."

Flandre giggles and smiles as the massive youkai gets closer to her.

She yells "Ail, is big sister ok?"

Ail shouts back "she's just unconscious... Where's that fox demon?"

"You little MONSTER" screams the youkai as it continues to walk toward Flandre. "You blew up my tail! I am going to kill you for that... argh!"

Suddenly the beast drops to the ground, yelping and holding its head as best it can with its clawed paws, then Flandre asks "I have the eye of your head now. Are you going to leave us alone?"

The youkai slightly recovers and tries to bite Flandre, but she clenches her hand again and shouts a happy and cute "kyuun~" this time, making the monster's head blow.

Its body falls to the ground and slowly turns to ashes shortly afterwards.

* * *

Flandre heads to where Ail and Meiling are then kneels beside them while telling Ail she's fine.

Just a bit after, Meiling wakes up asking "what happened?"

Flandre giggles and says "I protected my big brother and sister, just like when they protected me!"

Meiling sits up mumbling "uh? wha-?" then Flandre hugs her tightly.

Just then, Remilia slowly flies down from a near-by tree and says "well, I was wondering when you two would be headed home, but it seems you were having too much fun here huh? Perhaps you'll go home tomorrow?"

Just as Remilia lands Ail gets up and kneels before her and says "I'm sorry, I asked them to help me here, so that's why they..."

Remilia interrupts him when saying "look, its fine. The important thing is you brought Patchy and Meiling back to me; and seems as though..." she looks at Flandre and smiles "... you have taught my young sister something very important today."

Flandre smiles widely then jumps at Remilia, hugs her tightly, then exclaims "onee-sama!"

By then Suika, Reimu and Kyo arrive, and then the oni shouts "WHOA! You guys killed this sick beast? Good one" and gives them a thumbs-up.

Just as Marisa, Keine and Mokou arrive Reimu asks "what happened here? Ail, Meiling, are you two alright?"

Flandre excitedly tells them what happened and how she beat that monster using her powers.

She then goes to Meiling and Ail, hugs them again for good measure, and then says "because someone needs to protect these two, right?"

Reimu again mockingly says "aww~, you guys sure make one cute little family!"

Flandre giggles while the still-blinded Ail and the dazed Meiling slightly blush, and then Kyo laughs so hard that everyone else joins in.

"Onee-sama... sis, can't we stay a little longer? I want to see the puppet show at the village!" asks Flandre, to which Remilia quietly nods.

Just as everyone leaves, Ail realizes something and exclaims "hey wait! What about Ran and Chen?"

From inside the forest comes Ran carrying a sleeping Chen, then sounding a little angry she says "I found Chen, thank you! She was inside this _very_ messy house. Such a mess of books and junk all over the place easily makes that place a hazard!"

Marisa looks VERY grim as she asks "you... found her at my house?"

Ran looks at Marisa then says "oh, so that's your house? I knew I recognized the mess! Oh yes, I happen to have found one of my missing math books. Why was that in _your_ house?"

Marisa doesn't waste another second and gets on her broom, then flies as fast as she can toward her house while still looking incredibly grim.

* * *

Back at the village everyone enjoys the rest of the festival.

Kyo and Suika almost succeed in forcing Ail to drink some sake, but Ail manages to escape just in time.

Chen and Flandre fall fast asleep right after Alice's puppet show, so Meiling, Remilia, Flandre, Ran and Chen leave the village a little earlier.

Ail, Suika, Kyo and Reimu are walking back to the shrine later that night.

Ail asks "hey Reimu, why didn't you hold the festival at the shrine?"

Suika answers "because Reimu said she didn't want to clean up after, and Kyo said 'me either' so we had it at the village instead."

Ail ponders for a second then bluntly says "that's too bad. It would have been good money for the shrine, but whatever."

Reimu stops walking, her eyes open widely, and then she looks at Ail and yells "crap... I forgot about that! Why didn't you remind me of that sooner?"

She then she grabs Kyo and shakes him while shouting "why didn't you say something!?"

She drops her arms down afterward, and then slouches as she walks toward the shrine in her pitiful pose.

Suika and Kyo, whom are behind Ail, look at each other and nod, then Kyo grabs Ail and pulls him backwards, and then Suika pours a little sake down his throat.

Ail jumps up as he holds his throat, and runs in circles while screaming "water, water! Give me WATER! My throat!"

He then drops the lantern he was holding and flies to the back of the shrine, then drinks as much water as he can from the lake at the back.

The next morning Ail wakes up and stumbles as he goes outside the shrine.

Suika and Kyo are having a staring contest, but stop as soon as they spot Ail, then the oni happily says "good morning Ail."

"Morning buddy... want some breakfast?" asks Kyo.

Ail places both hands over his mouth, turns pale, then green, then runs to the trees and bushes and then throws up.

Suika and Kyo, stare Ail's way and then Suika says "wow, he really IS weak against sake, isn't he?"

Kyo nods and only says "uh-huh, uh-huh".

* * *

For four days everything goes back to the way it was before the mess with the mansion; back when Ail and Kyo first entered Gensokyo; except now Ail flies to town and is asked to do heavier errands.

He's even visiting the Moriya Shrine various times, and every time he does Sanae gets in a really good mood; same as him.

Youmu has visited the Hakurei Shrine, and she and Kyo have had another sparring match, and of course Reimu has gotten really mad when they almost level the shrine.

Another constant visitor is Yuka, who keeps bringing more plants for Ail to revive, and Alice and Marisa also visit often, however their visits are quite normal.

Suika is still wearing Reimu's clothing; which has Reimu worried for some reason, and also, Sakuya has visited the shrine in order to consult something with Reimu and caused Kyo to lose it again at the sight of her; Even though she doesn't know, or doesn't WANT to know, she had him under her spell, and for some reason it seems he doesn't want to be free of it.

On the early morning on the fifth day Aya visits the shrine and is looking terribly grim.

"Aya? What are you doing here so early?" asks Reimu, while sitting on the shrine's porch while drinking her tea.

Aya gets startled and stammers "a, err... Reimu, how are you? Err... have... have you seen Ail around?"

Reimu looks at her directly in the eyes then says "calm down... you're acting as though you were about to do something really bad, but you don't want to, but you have to."

Aya's face turns ghostly white, slowly followed by her skin, then someone pokes her from behind, making her jump and shriek loudly.

"Whoa... talk about being stressed. Are you alright?"

It was Ail, and Aya rapidly gets up and bows while saying "good morning, good morning. Let's cut to the chase... how about a small race?"

Aya is shaking a bit and doesn't notice Reimu and Ail grinning evil-like at each other.

Reimu nods and Ail says "why sure. That sounds like a lot of fun! From here to where?"

Aya perks up and says "alright then! We start from here, head to the Moriya Shrine, go down to the village, and then come back here again!"

Ail ponders, then nods and says "sounds great. Let's begin, then!"

* * *

They both get set to start their race, then Reimu, very calmly says "ready set go..."

Aya and Ail look at Reimu with disbelief, then at each other, and then lunge into the air at great speeds.

They are evenly matched while flying at amazing speeds. They are right above the waterfall that leads to the Moriya Shrine already.

Aya stops there while looking very sad, so Ail stops and gets closer to her with worry on his face.

"Hey, what's the matter? We're in the middle of a race!" he asks the tengu, but then suddenly from behind him Momiji impales him with her sword.

Aya, almost crying says "I'm sorry, but we were ordered to kill you... I'm so sorry."

She places the palm of her hand on his chest then shoots her danmaku directly at him, blasting him from the skies.

His blood showers down to the waterfall and the trees while Aya and Momiji cry and hug each other after realizing what they have done.

They suddenly realize that the blood has turned into cotton, and that Ail's body had turned into fabric. Aya and Momiji are now shaking in fear.

"Miss Aya, what have we done?" asks Momiji while trembling alongside Aya who responds "what the hell was he?"

Ail comes out from under some trees and is looking very casual with an apple he has just bought from the Aki sisters, and after taking a bite from it he shouts from the ground "hey, what exactly are you two doing?"

When Aya and Momiji see he's alive and well, they celebrate for a bit, but then suddenly attack him with so many bullets he is bound to get hit, however the trees absorb most of the shots, and again, still looking casually at them, he shouts "what exactly are you two trying to do?"

This time both Aya and Momiji lunge directly toward him; Momiji pointing her sword straight at Ail's face while Aya aims her maple fan at him.

He throws the apple up in the air, gets out of the way just in time to avoid Momiji's sword, then spins out of Aya's way, making her crash against a tree.

He grabs the apple from the air, takes on last bite and throws it at Aya, knocking her down.

After both tengu are recovering, the boy gets close to Aya and again he asks "what are you two trying to do?"

From behind, Momiji quietly tries to slash him, however he ducks just in time, kicks the sword away, then backs away fast, just as Aya starts shooting danmaku at him.

Aya's danmaku misses miserably while she, almost crying, says "we got direct orders from our leader to terminate you. It's nothing personal, but we cannot disobey orders!"

She rushes toward Ail alongside Momiji, and just as they strike they realize they are attacking air, and then from behind them, Ail says "well, slowpokes like you could never hope to catch me... let alone '_terminate_' me."

Without turning around Aya stands up straight and the atmosphere around her turns thick, then in a very serious and angry tone of voice she says "what... did you just call me?"

Ail calmly looks at the tengu reporter and mockingly says "oh my. Did I strike a raw nerve?"

Aya turns around; her face is red with rage, her eyes are on fire, and she is clenching that fan of hers so tight it's bound to break any second.

"**_You punk!_**" shouts Aya. "You want to see fast, do you? Momiji, stand down... he's **mine**!"

Momiji looks at Aya and quietly says "but Miss Aya, don't you realize he's just mocking-"

The crow girl loudly yells "I SAID STAND DOWN!" and Momiji ducks and covers herself, lowering her ears and hiding her tail between her legs.

Aya lunges at Ail moving at much higher speeds than before, however Ail dodges her attack just in time.

Aya gets furious, but on her next pass she stops and realizes the boy has her fan, and He is looking at it curiously while saying "wow... looks like a leaf, but it's quite solid. Oh..."

He looks at the angry tengu girl and asks "you want this?" and then tosses the fan back to her.

Aya stomps hard on the ground with her left foot and pulls out a spell card just as she catches her fan.

"Illusionary Dominance!" she darkly shouts at the top of her lungs. "AYAYAYA!"

She suddenly starts flying high and at such speeds she looks like a red beam of light.

Momiji is now trembling behind a tree while watching the fight while Ail looks up and sees a lot of little green shards heading his way slowly.

At first he thinks nothing of it, however more and more shards appear and make it really hard for him to dodge anything.

"Crap" he says softly as four or five shards land on him, one of them landing on his hit box.

Various red tabs with the letter "P" on them fly up, then slowly back down to the spot where they boy was.

Aya smirks and comes down, then gets close to him with an evil grin in her face and says "now die you **_snail!_**"

Just as Aya prepares another wave of danmaku at point-blank range, Reimu pops from out of nowhere and holds Aya by the shoulder, and with a glint in her eyes and says "hold it, you idiot!"

* * *

Ail sits on the ground and pokes his danmaku burns while Reimu explains "I went to the tengu headquarters to ask why they wanted you to terminate Ail. Funny thing, they all looked at me as if I were crazy, and so I explained the situation."

Aya and Momiji both look with great surprise and the crow girl asks "wait, you knew!?"

"We both did" replies Reimu.

Ail gets up and says "if it was meant to be a secret, then you're not very good at keeping those _'a secret.'_ We suspected something the second you came to the shrine looking so nervous."

Reimu continues "so while you two were having your little race I took the liberty to coming here directly and talk to Tenma. You completely misunderstood the orders."

She quickly hands Aya a piece of paper which the tengu girl reads it out loud. "You idiots, we told you to terminate a CONTRACT with the half youkai that lives in the FOREST, not to terminate the half youkai in the SHRINE! We will discuss this matter after you are done with your **REAL** errand."

Aya and Momiji look very ashamed of themselves, and look at each other in disbelief.

Momiji shouts "Miss Aya~, you weren't listening again!"

Aya lowers her head and drops to the ground, then bangs her fist next to herself while crying "don't say it like that!"

Aya and Momiji apologize to Ail almost a hundred times, and the boy of course accepts their apologies with a smile.

Above them, a very tired-looking Moon Rabbit is flying toward the village from the Moriya Shrine's direction; for some odd reason; and is carrying a large brown backpack.

"Why did I come here in the first place?" Reisen asks herself after sighing loudly. "I don't even remember how I got here. I better hurry or master will be angry again."

After almost falling down from exhaustion she quickly recovers and says "ah... this is so heavy, I better fly lower just in case I fall."

Without realizing it, a vial full of indigo-colored liquid falls from one of the backpack's pockets and drops straight down on Ail's head.

He rubs his head with both his hands and runs around in a circle while whimpering in a panic attack.

When he stops he notices Aya is chuckling while looking at him, and so he sounds annoyed as he says "that's not funny, that hurt!"

Reimu spots half of the vial on the ground near him and says "uh-oh" then Ail complains "argh, my hair is wet with something. Uhh... I'm feeling... a bit strange."

His body suddenly shrinks to that of the size of a small child, his ears vanish and are replaced by furry ears just like Momiji's; although his are brown like his own hair; and then a brown hairy tail pops just below his back, and his eyes widen and turn beady. Ail has now turned into half a dog.

He looks at Reimu, who is completely shocked, and then at Aya and Momiji, who look equally shocked, and asks "what are you all looking at?"

Ail realizes his voice sounds squeaky, and so he casually asks "what just happen to me?"

Momiji and Aya's noses start bleeding as they both shout "SO CUUUUTE!" then run at Ail and start petting him and cuddling him.

Reimu looks a little shocked still, and then looks at the half of the vial in her hand as if wondering if it has the answers.

From behind some trees a little black ball flies aimlessly and asks "is that a puppy~?" and then crashes against a tree.

* * *

To be continued...

Characters, scenario and spell cards all belong to ZUN -Team Shanghai Alice-

Ail, Kyo and "Metal and Fire Sign Dragon's Last Breath!" spell card were created by Willie G.R. (Any similarities are strictly coincidental.)

JUN 25 2009

Written by

Willie G.R.

**-Updated JUN 3 2013 by Willie G.R.-**


	8. Chapter 6

Reimu flies on the sky as she heads to the Bamboo Forest of the Lost, followed closely by a doggy-fied Ail who got a little smaller during the flight there, and now he looks like a very tiny fairy in size, with a pair of dog ears, fur, and a tail instead of wings.

"Thanks again for getting me out of there, Reimu" says Ail in a squeaky voice.

Reimu, trying not to laugh hard says "sure; pfff N-no problem."

*FLASHBACK*

Aya and Momiji refuse to let go of Ail and continue to smother him rub their faces against his own face and ears saying while repeating "aww~ soft fur!" "So cuuuute~!"

Reimu approaches them and says "hey, don't you two have a job to do?"

They both let go of dog-Ail, letting him fall to the ground, and then Aya says "oh yeah... let's go Momiji! Let's terminate that contract!"

Momiji follows after her while saying "right behind you, Miss Aya!"

*FLASHBACK OVER*

* * *

At Eientei, over at the Hourai Clinic, Eirin has Reisen tied up by her arms and legs which are pulled behind her back, and has her dangling by the ceiling.

Eirin also has a thick black leather whip on her hand when she turns around just as Reimu and Ail enter her clinic.

After a miraculously quick change, Eirin examines Ail and says "ah yes, I see. That's the drug Udonge was supposed to bring me back. I am so sorry for this. Don't worry, she'll get her punishment really soon."

Ail, who has just finished shrinking to the size of a miniature dog, jumps on Eirin's table and looks at her with his puppy eyes, and with his new squeaky voice he begs "please Miss Eirin, it was just an accident. Forgive Miss Reisen this one time."

Eirin smiles as she looks into his eyes and before she can say anything he pulls the sad puppy eyes.

Reimu looks on feeling almost disgusted, and then Eirin says "alright... I supposed I'll forgive her just this once."

The woman turns to Reimu with a smile and revealing blood coming from her nose, then goes to release Reisen while the shrine maiden approaches doggy-Ail and menacingly says "you better not try that shit on me, or you'll get hurt."

Ail starts shaking and lowers his ears then puts his tail between his legs before curling up into a ball.

Just then Kaguya enters the clinic and calls "Eirin, I want breakfast! Where's the Udonge? I want her to make something for me!"

Ail's eyes twinkle and gets down from Eirin's desk without making a sound, while Kaguya continues to call for Eirin when suddenly *chomp* she starts screaming "ow, ow, ow O~~~W~~~! My LEG!"

Ail has bitten Kaguya's leg and is not letting go, even when she shakes her leg with all her unnatural might.

Reimu scolds Ail "bad boy! Let go of her leg," and tries to pull him off, then Eirin comes in with a scalpel in her hand and Reisen behind her, looking very relieved.

The Lunarian doctor stares at Ail with a smile and says "my, I've never dissected a live dog before. I wonder how that will work for me."

Ail yelps and let's go of Kaguya, then runs to Reimu and jumps on her arms.

The shrine maiden notices the twinkle in Eirin's eyes and offers the doggy to her, even though Ail is crying twin waterfalls.

After everything settled down again, Eirin says "the effect of this drug isn't permanent; however I don't have an antidote either."

Ail looks at her and calmly says "well as long as I can fly I don't mind. Any ideas when this will wear off?"

Eirin shakes her head and shrugs saying "not a clue. It might be hours, days, or maybe even weeks."

Reimu is quietly looking at Ail for some time now and thinks "_hmm... this looks so familiar_," and then an image of Sakuya pops in her head.

Afterward the Lunar Doctor says "I'll try to find an antidote in the mean time, however..."

Her eyes twinkle again, and as she grabs her scalpel once more she speaks in a most ominous tone "...I could use a test subject."

Ail pulls the sad puppy eyes again and manages to make Eirin drop her scalpel, and make her nose bleed a bit.

"_That's dangerously cute..._" thinks Eirin while trying to hide her true feeling with an intense stare.

* * *

As Ail and Reimu walk out of the clinic Kaguya angrily shouts "that mangy mongrel will pay for this, you hear me! I'll be having a hot dog meal one of these days so you be ready!"

Ail angrily barks back, but Reimu gives him the stink-eye and so he immediately quiets down, and then follows her up to the sky.

While flying back to the shrine Ail asks "hey Reimu; don't you find it odd that somehow my pants have a hole for my tail and that my clothes shrunk along with me?"

Reimu smiles and says "Ail, it is best not to question these things. Sometimes the answer can be more confusing than the question."

Ail turns his attention to the Forest of Magic as a large explosion makes many birds and fairies fly away from the one particular spot.

Reimu sighs with frustration, facepalms, and then reluctantly says "we better go check it out."

When they arrive at the source of the explosion they see a silver haired man with golden eyes wearing glasses and black and blue clothes struggling to get up. He is next to a house with a sign on it that reads "Kourindou".

Immediately after landing Reimu asks "hey Rinnosuke, are you ok?"

After getting up and pretending to be fine; even though his clothes are in tatters and he is singed all over; he says "I'm fine. Argh! Those two idiots came here yelling about terminating a contract, but it seems to me they never heard that the pen is mightier than the sword."

Reimu laughs hard then says "so Aya and Momiji were here? Took them longer than I thought."

Rinnosuke looks at her angrily but sighs and spots Ail, and asks "and who is this little fellow?"

The shrine maiden stops laughing and says "oh right, this is Ail. Ail, meet Rinnosuke Morichika. He runs this little shop of antiques you see here."

Ail looks back at Rinnosuke and says "how do you do? Pleasure to meet you, sir."

Rinnosuke shakes Ail's tiny hand then opens his eyes a little wider and says "wait, Ail? Is he the human from the outside with the youkai blood; the one that beat Remilia AND Flandre Scarlet? I thought he'd be a lot taller... and more human than this."

Ail shrugs and says "don't let appearances fool you, sir."

Reimu places her hand on Ail's head, rubs his furry head; to the doggy's enjoyment; and says "a little accident fell on his head and made him like this. He should be fine in a while anyway."

"I see" says Rinnosuke as he accommodates his glasses, then says "please, won't you come in? I insist."

Reimu looks indifferent as she nods slightly and says "sure thing."

* * *

Once inside Ail immediately recognized a television, a video game console and some MP3 players, and after admiring them he asks "how did you get all this stuff?"

Rinnosuke, with a face that suggests pride says "impressive, huh? I collect things from the outside world that end up in Gensokyo."

Bursting his bubble Reimu adds with a big smile "oh yes, and our Rinnosuke here can determine the name and purpose of each and every item, yet he can never tell how they are used."

Ail grabs an MP3 player and turns it on, then says "if you could plug this to a computer with an USB cable, we can add music and listen to it using headphones."

"I got those things here" says Rinnosuke just as the MP3 loses its power.

Ail explains how to recharge it, then explains how exactly to use the computer, how to put in the songs, and somehow Reimu finds herself dazed at all the nonsense the two of them start talking about. Internet, modems, files, hacking, etc., etc., and so on.

After two hours Ail has Rinnosuke set with all the machines and knickknacks all powered up and running perfectly.

As Reimu and Ail leave; and Rinnosuke happily waves at them goodbye; the doggy-boy comments "amazing how a tiny quartz crystal like that can power up all that stuff."

Reimu just looks at him and says "you don't know what you have just done."

Ail lets out a low "rowl?" and they just head back to the shrine without further comments.

* * *

Reimu lands in front of the shrine with Ail just behind her while Kyo was sweeps the area while Suika keeps shaking the empty donation box for no reason.

"Oh, you're back" says Kyo while looking around. "Hey, wasn't Ail with you?"

Reimu looks at Kyo and smiles, and then says "oh, he's right behind me. Look."

She moves to reveal the little doggy-Ail looking up at Kyo from the ground, and after a moment of absorption Kyo and Suika both open their eyes as wide as they can and rush to him.

After a few second, Kyo asks "A... Ail?" The dog-boy nods and reveals his wagging tail.

Kyo and Suika look at each other, then back at Ail, and then their cheeps puff as they smile and chortle. "Pffft.. WAHAHAHAHA!"

Both Kyo and Suika laugh uncontrollably and hold their sides as they roll on the floor.

Ail looks at them indifferently, and then inhales a bit of air and lets out a small puff before Kyo gets up with tears in his eyes while he keeps laughing hard, holds his friend in one hand, and then points at him and says "dude, what happened? HAHAHA, you look just like a dog!"

Suika stops laughing and looks at Ail for a while, and then suddenly an image of Sakuya with dog ears and a tail pops into her mind.

She looks at Reimu who is trying hard to contain her laughter, then shakes her head at Suika so the oni keeps quiet about it.

Ail jumps from Kyo's hand then says "I think I'll go to the village. Someone might need help today."

Reimu grabs him and says "oh no. Let's avoid trouble, alright? You are too small and someone could step on you. Also, we need to know if this transformation has affected your powers somehow."

Ail looks at himself and says "oh, I think it's alright, look!"

Ail shoots his danmaku to the air and for a moment it looks normal, but then the bullets fall back down and exploding on impact.

The shots manage to explode on Suika and Kyo and knocks them both down, and then Ail looks at Reimu and smiles, then the shrine maiden grabs him on her hands and says "well, you can defend yourself quite well I see, but seems your powers are a little bit unstable. Until we know the full extent of the damage you will stay here."

Reimu places Ail on the ground then goes inside the shrine; he quickly follows her after a bit, leaving both Suika and Kyo knocked down on the ground.

* * *

At late noon Marisa arrives to the shrine and says "yo, Reimu, how's everything, ze!?" then she sits on the shrine's porch right in front of the living room's entrance.

From inside the kitchen Reimu chuckles and responds "just as always. I'll send some tea your way."

"Thanks" replies Marisa, but then quietly says to herself "she seems to be in a good mood today. I wonder what happened."

Her tea is placed on a plate to her left along with three rice cookies.

"Oh, thank you Rei-"

Marisa turns around to thank her friend; however who she finds is the tiny dog Ail, and for a second she just stares

After another second she points at him while shaking, and asks "i-i-is that you. Ail?"

The tiny doggy nods and simply says "small accident."

Marisa grabs him and starts hugging him hard while saying "So~ cute, ooh and so soft and cuddly and fluffy!"

Though out of breath, Ail grunts for help, but just then Marisa lets him go then starts drinking her team and then asks "and what kind of accident? Is it permanent?"

Kyo comes from the lake behind the shrine, saying "some shady new drug Eirin made fell on his head. Now he is a cute wittle puppy, HAHAHA!"

Ail sighs, then Kyo grabs a stick and says "here boy, go get the stick, go, go get it!"

Ail, looking slightly annoyed responds "I'm not chasing any sticks for your amusement."

Kyo throws the stick and Ail instinctively runs after it while barking and waggling his tail. He returns with the stick in his mouth thinking "_what am I doing!?_"

Little pink hearts start flying from Marisa's head and pop just as they reach the top of her hat.

She then grabs the doggy and starts hugging him tightly again while Kyo laughs so hard he starts to cry.

At that moment Remilia and Sakuya fly to the shrine, and as soon as they land the vampire looks at Ail and says "so it IS true. He's been turned into a dog! So cute too."

From the shrine stairs, Yuka, Keine, Mystia, Cirno, and Wriggle also come to visit the new puppy, and then Kanako, Sanae, Suwako, the Aki sisters, Hina and Nitori arrive. Pretty soon, the shrine is full of guests, all coming to see Ail without invitation.

He is feeling embarrassed to no ends as they all keep hugging him and holding him and pinching his cheeks and calling him cute and adorable.

At night, the youkai from the underground come too; then Yukari, Ran and Chen; Yukari providing sake for all.

Meiling, Flandre, Patchouli, and Koakuma arrive a little later, and now Flandre is holding Ail almost too hard while happily saying "big brother is so soft and cuddly. Can I keep him!?"

Soon after, Eientei arrives to the shrine as well. It is now one huge party.

After Ail is released from Flandre's clutches, he snorts then shouts "**HEEEEYYYY!**"

They all quiet down and look at him as he desperately asks "how did you all find out about this?"

Reimu looks a bit concerned as she hands him the Bunbunmaru Newspaper, and on the front page is a picture of Ail as a human, and another of him as a doggy.

The headline reads "Gensokyo's Wonder Boy goes to the Dogs".

Something about that irritates Ail, but he just sighs and says "the fastest reporter, huh?" Reimu nods and says "uh-huh."

Everyone there, including Remilia, stare at Ail then at Sakuya, but nobody says a word about how he reminds them all of her, so the party just keeps going.

* * *

The next morning a familiar whimsical voice sweetly calls "good morning~! Is anybody here?"

Little doggy-Ail goes to greet the visitors with a broom on his tiny hands (which makes him look even smaller).

The early visitors are Yuyuko and Youmu, and they stare at Ail before the gardener says "so they WERE telling the truth after all. I guess I owe you a double-breakfast."

Yuyuko smiles and says "better make it a double-lunch, Youmu."

The girl sighs and drops her hands down, but she then perks up and asks "is Kyo here? I've got some new moves I'd like to try on him!"

Ail nods saying "I'll go get him for you."

From inside the shrine there is only silence, but then suddenly Kyo's voice alerts the visitors while he is heard saying "get the stick; go get it, boy!"

A wooden stick flies right out of the shrine and Ail runs behind it, barking then crashing against a tree. Kyo laughs as hard as he can.

"Whoa, poor kid," said Youmu with pity, who then realizes Yuyuko is not beside her.

Instead, the ghost princess looks quite angry as she pulls on Kyo's ears while gently saying "don't pick on him please."

Once they Yuyuko calms down, Youmu challenges Kyo to another sparring match, and he gladly accepts and while they prepare themselves for the match, Yuyuko grabs Ail and places him on her lap.

Reimu walks over to the shrine porch and places some tea for herself Yuyuko and Ail to drink as they watch the match.

Kyo surrounds his arms with the familiar white blade-like and shield-like energies, and Youmu unsheathes both her swords, then they rush toward each other and clash their weapons fiercely.

While they fight Yuyuko, in a disappointed tone, says to Reimu "Reimu, you should have watched out for him a little more."

The annoyed shrine maiden replies "I'm not the boy's babysitter or anything, got it?"

Yuyuko looks seriously at her and says "you know something's coming. We will need all the help we can get. We have to watch out of each other."

Reimu looks back at Yuyuko with an equally serious face and says "it's okay; I took him to Eirin. It's a temporary thing. Besides, why do you care so much for him? He's just a human from the outside, not even..."

Yuyuko lowers her sight and notices Ail has fallen asleep on her lap, and has placed the tea cup on the floor so it wouldn't spill on her.

She looks at Reimu again and says "I'm sorry; it's just that his spirit seems so familiar to me. It feels as if he is... family."

Reimu looks at the ghost woman with concern and says "Yuyuko... you're a ghost. You can't let yourself be controlled by emotions. Attachments are also dangerous for you; they're not healthy for a ghost."

Again Yuyuko lowers her sight and says "I'm sorry" and then smiles again while rubbing Ail's ears; which start twitching as she does, then Both Reimu and Yuyuko smile and say "**that's so cute!**"

Yuyuko stays quiet for a bit, and then in her usual whimsical tone says "oh... I'm hungry."

Reimu sighs saying "fine;" then pockets a charm she was hiding behind herself and thinks "_that was too close._"

* * *

Kyo's and Youmu's fight goes on for 3 minutes, and then during a moment of respite the gardener grins and says "you have improved quite a lot I see."

The muscled boy smiles and replies "not bad yourself."

They clash once more then back away as they seize each other up, and then Youmu says "I know you can't see our Spell Cards, so I'll tell you when I'll be using them."

Kyo just smiles back and says "no need. I like surprises."

Youmu grins back at him and says "alright then. Don't cry if you get hurt!"

Ail wakes up just in time to see the fight go on. Reimu has brought some rice balls out and is arguing with Yuyuko, who was already eating the 5th one, so the tiny dog boy gets off the ghost's lap and sits on the porch, then hangs his legs from the edge and watches on.

Youmu takes out a spell card and shouts "Human Sign, Present Life Slash!"

Youmu's sword glows blue as she slashes forward, but misses Kyo by a hair.

The boy retaliates by shooting his shield energy at her, which she blocks with her sword before taking out another spell card and declaring "Ghost Sword, Fasting of the Young Gaki!"

Youmu flies up and slashes the air at such speeds Ail can't see her, yet it seems Kyo is able to follow her easily while Petal-like blue danmaku flies out of her cuts in many circles.

Kyo uses his shield energy to block and reflect some; however he is grazed by a lot more than what he can block.

The boy then jumps high in the air, and just as Youmu is about to unleash the second wave he comes down hard with his blade-like energy coming down hard with him.

Youmu blocks just in time and her spell is cancelled due to the interruption.

Both fighters still look quite fresh when Youmu says "amazing to be able to keep up with me, but how long can you keep this up?"

Kyo smirks then says "longer than you can, I bet."

Youmu pulls another spell card and then declares "Obsessor, Slash of Eternity!"

Youmu lunges at Kyo at incredible speeds while he feels as though he is floating in mid-air, and thus is unable to dodge; however using his shield energy he protects himself a bit as Youmu keeps attacking repeatedly in a pattern that looks like a dance.

Once the attack is done Kyo drops to the ground full of bruises and some cuts, but he smiles as he gets up, saying "not bad at all. Now it's my turn."

Kyo stars shooting his shield energy around, forcing Youmu to block constantly and while she blocks his shots the boy runs to her and slashes her with his blade energy, forcing her to defend against the attack and getting her damaged by the danmaku balls.

Both fighters were winded; almost out of breath Youmu says "that... was impressive, but now I finish this!"

Kyo smirks, and breathing hard saying "I was... about to... say that!"

Youmu flies up and takes out another spell card, then declares "Heaven's Sword, Five Signs of the Deva!"

Five sets of petal-like bullets materialize in the air after Youmu slashes at unbelievable speeds, and then spread out randomly, leaving very little room for Kyo to dodge.

He has to use his shield as he jumps up to reach Youmu, however he is hit various times by the danmaku, yet he goes on, reaching Youmu and causing an energy discharge when they clash their blades.

Both fall to the ground face-first; laughing and coughing; and then Ail walks to them and says "if you two were fighting for real you'd both be dead you know."

* * *

After their wounds are treated Youmu and Kyo eat one rice ball each; since Yuyuko has eaten 10 already and that is all that's left.

"I'll go buy more rice then" says the little doggy-Ail.

Reimu looks at him and smiles with a twinkle in her eyes and then shouts "you're my hero!"

Youmu looks concerned and asks "won't you need help carrying those sacks back here?"

Ail shakes his head and says "I'll be fine," and then walks outside and flies to the village.

Kyo stares at Youmu's ghost half for some time, and says "hey Youmu, what's the deal with that ball that keeps following you around like that? In fact, I think it was also shooting at me."

Youmu looks at him with widely opened eyes to show her slight annoyance as she says "that happens to be my other half... didn't you know that already?"

Kyo's face fills with great confusion, then Reimu comes from behind him, knocks his head with her fist and says "idiot!"

As Ail flies to the village he realizes the days are getting cold. Winter is just around the corner.

He then remembers his old home; being cozy in his bedroom while waiting for the next day to come, playing video games or going outside, and just hang around with Kyo and some of his friends; quietly listening to their conversations.

When he comes back to, he realizes he has passed over the village and quickly turns around with a "rowf!"

In the village the people treat him normally, although behind his back some are saying he looks better now.

After buying the rice he realizes... it is heavy and can't fly with it.

"This body has lost a lot of strength... ahh, but it's only a temporary thing," he says to himself as he lifts the thing using his whole body.

As he walks back to the shrine with the rice bag on his back, he hears a familiar tune sung by Mystia.

"Hello, Mystia" he says, and soon after Mystia comes down and asks "need help?"

Since the bag is too heavy for Mystia to carry she helps him by pulling some of the weight of the bag while the doggy continues to carry it on his back.

"Thanks a lot for you help Mystia. I'd probably be winded by now if you hadn't helped."

The night sparrow happily replies "no problem. Um, so you ARE going to turn back to normal, right?"

Ail keeps quiet for a moment as he takes the first step of the stairs to the shrine, then says "well, from what Eirin said, yes, it's just a matter of time. I never thought that my physical strength would diminish this much, though."

Mystia giggles, and then they continue up the stairs. After finally reaching the top Ail is so tired he can barely move his legs, and Mystia just drops face-up while catching her breath.

A whimsical voice is heard close by, saying "my, that looks heavy. Don't strain yourself too hard or you'll get too tough for me to chew on."

Yuyuko, floats slowly toward Ail and Mystia, with drool dripping down to the ground from her mouth.

Mystia shrieks, gets up in a second, and then flies away as fast as she can while screaming "get her away from me! Someone help me~!"

Yuyuko continues to float after Mystia and passes by Ail, who gets up and tries to pull her back with all his little might, but his tiny body is no match for the ghost's hunger drive, so he flies back to the shrine while shouting "Yuyuko wants to eat Mystia! Someone help!"

Youmu sighs and nonchalantly says "yeah, she does this often."

Reimu adds "do you think she really has a stomach in there?"

The gardener says "who knows. All I know is she's always hungry!"

Ail get a little angry and says "I can't believe this... fine I'll save her myself," and storms off.

Just then Kyo gets up from the ground looking very drowsy and asks "did I miss something?"

Reimu goes out and sees the bag of Rice then says "Oh Kyo, get the rice back to the storage please."

From inside the Shrine the muscled boy protests "why do I have to do that?"

* * *

It is now late afternoon and _SOMEHOW_ Ail has gotten a large piece of meat he's using to lure Yuyuko back to the Hakurei Shrine with.

Mystia waves at Ail and calls "thank you very much!" and Ail waves back at her and slows down a bit. This almost gives Yuyuko a chance to take a bite off the meat.

Leading Yuyuko back Ail notices the sack of rice is still next to the shrine stairs, and as he lands Yuyuko lands behind him, then after handing the meat to the hungry princess he inhales a lot of air and when he exhales, it sounds as though he is whining.

After grabbing the heavy sack of rice he now walks to the shrine's storehouse.

After depositing the rice in the rice box the doggy-boy hears a faint muffled voice with his dog ears, which twitch and arrange in order to listen more clearly.

He sniffs around and then spots a small trap door that leads down to a basement in the shrine's store house.

With little difficulty Ail opens the trap door and the voice sounds a lot clearer now. It keeps saying something about a master plan after escaping the clutches of the red and white one, then laughter.

Ail goes down the small steps and finds a small corridor with various doors, and one has a light coming from within.

From this door the voice can be heard saying "nah... I'll probably just pull her hair while she sleeps... Ah, but the poor dear needs to eat so I'll give her some money I guess."

Ail slowly opens the door; hearing a ripping sound as he does; and inside the room is a woman. She has long green hair and green eyes and wears a long blue robe and blue cape with white trims on it. Her long sleeves are also white.

She has a ghostly white tail and also wears a pointy blue hat with a yellow star and sun designs, and has a white ribbon tied around it.

Ail also notices a long staff adorned with a white crescent on top besides her bed.

"What's this?" asks the woman. She looks at Ail who is frozen by the doorway for some reason. She looks at the little dog-man then asks "how did you open that door, little dog-man-boy?"

Ail jumps in place then says "I'm so sorry, didn't mean to bother you. I was just wondering who was in here?"

The woman's ghostly tail makes a popping sound and now she has legs, then she walks closer and says "well I am the great and powerful Mima; I sure you have heard of me!"

Ail lowers his ears and says "sorry, I haven't. Err... I am Ail, Miss Mima. It's a pleasure to meet you."

Mima looks almost disappointed when saying "oh... I see" as she thinks "_he's not really a dog... Ooh, Reimu sure picked an odd one._"

Ail bows his tiny head and says "I'm sorry to have bothered you, Miss. I'll just go now."

Mima rushes to him saying "wait, wait, wait, let's both go outside together, hmm. I could use the fresh air."

Something tells Ail she is trouble, but there is very little he can do to stop her now and so both go outside.

As soon as the door closes behind them the paper charms that held the door closed before rematerialize and discard the ones Ail had just broken.

* * *

Back outside on the shrine grounds Mima stretches out and reveals 3 large pairs of bat-like wings, then conceals them again.

Ail looks up at her and asks "are you a demon?"

Mima smiles at him and says "I'm an evil spirit."

The dog boy calmly says "oh, I see. And why exactly were you living down there?"

From behind them Reimu answers "because she is dangerous to have out here!"

After looking at Reimu and then Mima's surprised face, Ail realizes for certain he has just made a terrible mistake.

Suddenly Mima and Ail are both bombarded by yin-yang balls from the sky, then the shrine maiden angrily says "Ail, I am very disappointed in you; releasing this crazy spirit like that!"

She then turns to Mima and commands "and you, go BACK to your room young-old lady!"

Mima comes out from under the yin-yang balls saying "aww, give me a break, I just got out."

Reimu thinks about it and Mima says "HA! got y- Wait... my- CRAP, I left my staff in that room!"

Reimu smiles a most evil smile of satisfaction and says "then you can stay up here, then."

Mima drops her hands down and slumps as she floats to the living quarters while saying "I want some sake *sob*."

Reimu looks at the pile of yin-yang balls where Ail is and saying "come on, Ail; get out of there already."

She sticks her hand in and pulls out a crying doggy with twin waterfalls under his eyes; his body limp, and the atmosphere around him very gloomy.

Yuyuko gets close and says "oh, I think you were a little too hard on him" and then grabs him and takes him with her into the shrine while scratching his head and saying "don't worry, accidents happen."

Reimu sighs then, asks herself "will I ever have peace and quiet again?"

From behind the trees in the shrine a voice says "is that so~?" so Reimu throws one of the yin-yang balls toward the direction of the voice, then turns it into a yellow cat.

The cat screeches and roars while the blonde of darkness cries in pain.

* * *

At night, Mima and Kyo are a little drunk, and the evil spirit keeps calling Kyo a hunk.

At first Kyo feels uncomfortable and blushes, but after drinking a bit he no longer mind at all.

From nowhere Marisa comes to joined them both after giving her old mentor a head-splitting hug.

Meanwhile, Yuyuko and Youmu are saying goodbye while Ail is still feeling down and has cornered himself at one of the farthest corners of the living room; and Reimu gives up on him and joins the others in drinking.

The next early morning Ail wakes up feeling much better, and Kyo, Mima, Marisa, and Reimu are all asleep on the tatami floors with the bottles of sake spread all around.

When Ail goes outside it is still dark, and the sun is just starting to rise from the horizon. He decides to fly around with no destination in mind.

While passing by the Misty Lake he gets close to the water and sees a reflection of himself, and Lands at the island to continue to stare at himself by the water while behind him a shadow looms ominously.

After the sun is up Marisa is the first to wake up. She notices some paper falling off Reimu's sleeves and picks it up.

She discovers Renko and Maribel's letter and reads the whole thing without realizing Kyo is right behind her reading it as well.

When Marisa realizes Kyo's behind her she shrieks and throws the letter up, Kyo catches it, then finishes reading while the girl holds her chest.

He drops the letter to the ground and without saying a word he heads outside to the lake behind the shrine.

Reimu and Mima wake up at the same time, and Marisa panics and repeats "I'm sorry, I'm sorry."

"You're awfully loud this morning" says Reimu while rubbing her face, then continues "sorry for what?"

The witch shows her friend the letter and says "I'm sorry, Kyo read it while I was looking at it, I'm sorry!"

Reimu's face turns pale. Mima looks at both of them and wonders what is going on.

"Marisa, where did he go?" asks Reimu, then Marisa points at the lake and says "back there."

Reimu looks at the letter for a moment then says "better leave him alone for now... I knew I should have given them this letter before. Crap, this is gonna be a long day... And where's Ail?"

Reimu looks at Mima, who shrugs, and then Marisa, who looks very concerned before saying "the only one I saw awake was Kyo. Haven't seen Ail at all, ze."

* * *

It is nearing noon and Reimu is starting to get a bad feeling about Ail, who hasn't returned yet.

Marisa keeps apologizing so much it's driving Reimu mad, however she felt this is all her own fault, so she hasn't snapped yet.

Mima is already getting used to using danmaku and is trying to come up with spell cards of her own at the shrine's back grounds, and Kyo is still at the lake.

"That's it, I'm gonna go talk to him" says Reimu.

Marisa stands up and is about to speak when Reimu says "Marisa, go look for Ail. It's not like him to just vanish like that."

Marisa immediately jumps on her broom and quickly flies away, and then Reimu hesitantly walks to the back of the shrine.

She finds Kyo meditating by the lake with Genjii next to him while softly saying "she's here... I'll go back inside now" then submerges underwater.

Reimu looks on and says "Kyo, I'm-" but Kyo, while still in a meditative pose, stops her and asks "since when did you have that?"

Reimu sighs and says "I found it about a week after you guys came to Gensokyo."

Kyo opens his eyes, however he remains sitting on the ground while looking at Reimu, and says "you do realize I am angry enough to try and rip that damned barrier in two, and just walk back home, right?"

Reimu looks down, unable to respond, and then Kyo answers "but it's like Genjii said, even if you did show me that letter before... what could I have done? I wonder..."

The shrine maiden looks back at the boy who is now looking at the sky as he continues "...I wonder if they are still looking for us? Our families, my friends, all of them worried for us, and we... unable to do a thing. I'm guessing that Yukari wouldn't even help us send them letter, huh?"

Reimu tries to say something, however she gives up and says "knowing her, she'll probably just burn them or use them to make paper airplanes."

Kyo gets up and approaches Reimu and says "I must thank you for not showing us this letter before. I bet even Ail would get worried too if he saw this. Remind me to thank him later. Guess if it had been me alone in here I'd have either snapped, or be six feet underground by now."

Reimu's face turns pale, and at the worst possible moment Marisa arrives empty-handed and saying "he wasn't at the Moriya Shrine or the village, ze!"

Reimu gulps when she sees Kyo's face when he realizes what they are talking about.

Back at the shrine Reimu says "...you're right Kyo. If we split up we'll have a better chance of finding him, but you can't fly, so that limits you a bit."

Kyo laughs and says "seems you don't know me very well."

The shrine maiden hands him and Marisa a charm and says "if one of us should find Ail, simply lift this above your head and shout 'I FOUND HIM' and this will signal the others to regroup in that area, got it!?"

Both of them to her, then he, with witch and the maiden all head in different directions and begin their search.

* * *

Reimu heads straight to Eientei where she is greeted by Tewi, who promptly tried to trick Reimu into a trap; however the mischievous rabbit finds herself tied upside down by her ankle from the highest bamboo shoot

Reisen then comes out of the mansion and Reimu promptly says "I'm looking for Ail. He's been missing since this morning. It's not like him."

Reisen looks a little concerned when saying "I'm sorry, we've been here all day and we haven't seen him."

From inside, Kaguya hears the whole thing and shouts "really? Maybe you should have kept that mongrel on a tight leash. He's probably rolling around some pile of garbage for all we know."

Reimu looks at Kaguya with intent to kill, however she just sighs and leaves, thanking Reisen for her time.

"_Maybe I should help too_," thinks Reisen, but Eirin calls her. "Udonge, I need some help here, come quick."

The Moon Rabbit sighs and heads toward the clinic, while Tewi still hangs by her ankle when she shouts "can someone get me down from here already?"

Marisa goes to the Forest of Magic and lands at Kourindou where Rinnosuke comes out to greet her, and this time he wears a large brown bag around his waist.

"Marisa, what a pleasant surprise," says Rinnosuke,

The witch worriedly asks "have you seen Ail around here?"

Rinnosuke adjusts his glasses saying "no, sorry. Did something happen?"

Marisa is about to explain, however she notices flickers coming from inside Rinnosuke's shop and asks "hey Kourin, what's with the light-works? Some kind of experiment?"

Rinnosuke's eyes twinkle, and then he says "I'm so glad you asked. Come inside."

Once inside, he shows Marisa all the things Ail left up and running in the shop.

He then points her at a computer and says "you see that little round thing there? That's a mouse and you use it to move things inside the computer... go on, I'll turn on a training course, to help you master this faster."

As he says that, Rinnosuke clicks on some small cream-colored box in the computer that turns on some sort of maze inside the screen and said "all you have to do is guide the arrow inside the blue maze, to the red goal. Can you do that?"

Marisa smirks saying "are you kidding me? That looks too easy!"

The blonde quickly goes through levels 1 and 2, then slowly and steadily she is about to finish level 3, when completely out of nowhere a monstrous face appears in the screen, screaming a bloody scream.

Rinnosuke laughs hard when this happens, but promptly stops when he realizes Marisa isn't moving. She has frozen in place with her mouth opened, her eyes shrunk, and with her body turned white and as cold as ice.

"Uh-oh" says Rinnosuke, then grabs her and runs as fast as he can to the Hourai Clinic while shouting "hold on, Marisa, I'll save you~!"

* * *

It is getting dark and Reimu is getting more worried as she keeps flying around and calling for Ail to no avail.

Marisa is in the Hourai Clinic and is still looking as pale as a ghost and saying "the face is telling me things..." while Rinnosuke shouts "don't listen to the face; just come back here to us!"

Eirin injects her with some green liquid that helps in returning some color back to Marisa's face.

Meanwhile Kyo arrives at the Misty Lake and looks at the Scarlet Mansion's island. He feels something there so he decides to use a tree branch as a slingshot to reach said island.

Upon reaching the island, he immediately hears two very familiar voices.

"Cirno" says the squeaky voice "it's really me, Ail. I was turned into a dog very recently... you went to the shrine to laugh at me, remember?"

The ice fairy replies "silence. Do you think I'm some sort of idiot? Ail is human, and you are a dog. There's a big different. I am a genius after all."

The squeaky voice sighs. Kyo pulls the charm Reimu gave him, and without wasting another second he shouts "I FOUND HIM;" and a flash of purple light rises from the charm to the skies, and the words "Regroup Here" writes itself on the clouds.

When Kyo investigates the voices he finds Ail frozen up to his neck and Cirno acting like a guard next to him.

"Cirno, What have you done to Ail!?" shouts Kyo.

Cirno looks at the boy and angrily replies "this is not Ail, it's an impostor! I captured him!"

Kyo gets mad, but tries to keep his cool while saying "Cirno, that is Ail. He just has the body and ears of a dog... and a fluffy wittle tail too;" he finishes saying mockingly, which annoys the doggy-boy a bit.

Cirno stares at Kyo then thinks "_so this is Ail after all? Wait... this Kyo MUST be a fake too. Yes, they are trying to confuse me._"

She backs away and says "You are trying to trick me, but I am too smart for you! You are a FAKE Kyo! I will freeze you!"

She pulls out a spell card. Kyo can't see it or hear its declaration however Ail shouts "Kyo, this spell card is called Icicle Fall! Just stand in front of her!"

Without hesitation Kyo stands in front of her as she shoots small icicles sideways, then smiles at her, chuckles mockingly, and then punches her right on the head, knocking her out and leaving a large bump on her head. Reimu arrives to the scene right afterwards.

"You found him!?" she exclaims.

Kyo signals her to come down and when she lands, she is surprised to see Ail frozen to his neck inside a large block of ice, and Cirno knocked out to the other side.

"AIL!" she shouts with relief "you idiot, what happened to you!?"

Kyo smiles and says "we were that worried, buddy. You really gave us one hell of a scare!"

Shivering, Ail says "I-I-I am sorry t-t-to have worried you so much. Now, I've use-used up all my energy keeping myself warm... so could you PLEASE get me out of here!?"

Kyo and Reimu chuckle with shamed before blasting the ice off, then wrap little dog-Ail around a white cloth, and then head home, Reimu by flying while holding Ail, and Kyo using his tree branch slingshot maneuver to reach the other side.

* * *

That night at the shrine, Reimu finishes explaining about the letter.

Still shivering Ail says "I k-k-knew about the letter. B-B-But Yu-Yukari said sh-she'd only h-h-help if I learned to *achoo-sniffle* use my barrier p-p-powers."

Reimu looks sadly at the cold diggy-boy, then Ail responds more calmly, and shivering less "I didn't know the contents of the letter, just knew there had to be s-something going on outside; but all we can do now is survive, s-s-so we can let our families know that we are well l-later on, and surrounded by wonderful friends."

Reimu smiles then looks back at Mima, Suika and Kyo, who are drunk and celebrating Ail's safe return.

Mima grins and says "I think I'm getting the hang of thiz danmaku business, look!"

She points her finger at Reimu, one yellow shard-like danmaku pops from her finger and goes straight to the ground.

Mima, Suika and Kyo look as the tiny shard on the ground vanish, and then Suika says "you need to drink more!"

Kyo shouts "YEAH! Let's drink to that!"

Mima gets really close to him and says "you're a SMART hunk!"

Reimu turns back around and asks "I wonder whatever happened to Marisa? She was supposed to be looking for you as well."

Ail sneezes again and says "she'll turn around *achoo sniffle* eventually."

Reimu looks at Ail and says "we need to get you medicine..."

* * *

At the Hourai clinic Eirin is looking frustrated, Reisen is falling asleep on her feet, Rinnosuke is still telling Marisa to ignore the face, and Marisa, although her color and warmth have returned, she is still shocked in bed and saying "the face, the face, it's looking at me!"

From outside, Reimu shouts "Eirin, do you have something for colds!?"

She opens the door while holding Ail, who is still wrapped in a white sheet, and looks at the scene then calmly walks to Marisa and says "so THIS is what happened to her!"

Ail sneezes again then says "told you she'd turn up somewhere."

Rinnosuke panics and says "it was just a prank; I didn't know she'd freak out like this!"

Reimu looks at Marisa, then says "Oh, I got just the thing"

She throws a yin-yang ball straight at Marisa's face, and watch as she recovers miraculously and shouts "HEY, WHAT WAS THAT FOR!?"

All in the room but Reimu and Ail are incredibly surprised at Marisa's sudden recovery.

The witch looks back at them and says "whoa... I was having this strange dream about a monstrous face and... hey wait, where am I?"

She looks at Reimu and Ail and says "oh, when did you find Ail; and why is his face green?"

After many apologies by Rinnosuke, prompt payment to Eirin, the cold medicine retrieval and, again, prompt payment to Eirin, everyone heads to their homes.

Marisa gives Rinnosuke a ride on her broom, and just as Eirin and Reisen close the mansion door behind them the rabbit girl asks "hey, have you seen Tewi... or Princess Kaguya for that matter?"

Eirin groans and responds "they are probably asleep by now... come on Udonge, time to sleep."

"Okay Master" replies Reisen.

Just outside the gates of Eientei the girls are hanging from tall bamboo shoots; Tewi to the left side and Kaguya to the right side, and both are calling for help.

After they are done screaming for help, the princess angrily asks "why did you set two of these up!?"

Tewi looks tired when she replies "they were supposed to be for Reisen and Reimu!"

Kaguya sighs and says "I order you to get me down, NOW!"

The rabbit casually answers "I can't reach you. We'll have to wait until someone else comes."

Both quiet down and let their hands hang, then an arrow suddenly cuts both ropes and the girls fall down hard on their faces.

Eirin sighs as she looks outside the window with her bow at hand, and then she says to herself "today was such a busy day."

* * *

To be continued...

Characters, scenario and spell cards all belong to ZUN -Team Shanghai Alice-

Ail and Kyo were created by Willie G.R.

JUN 27 2009

Written by

Willie G.R.

**-Edited on JUN 7 2013 by Willie G.R.-**


	9. Chapter 7

One week after the "Missing Dog-Ail" incident Reimu assembles Ail, Kyo and Mima inside the shrine, and after banging her hands on the table to get their attention she says "ladies, gentlemen, as you know the days are getting colder and the daytime shorter, which means winter is upon us. It has come to my attention that our food supply for the winter is pretty low, and if we don't do something about it soon, we'll starve during the stormy season."

Kyo's face fills with worry while Ail's and Mima's stay looking unconcerned and indifferent.

"You two look WAY too calm. Are you hiding something?" shouts Kyo while dramatically pointing at them.

Doggy-Ail hops on the table and with that squeaky voice he says "I vote we go youkai hunting and use their meat as food!"

Kyo is in complete shock, and gets worst when Reimu says "no, no, I tried that once. Youkai meat tastes horrible. Not even Kyo would be able to eat one bite off of one."

Again Kyo is shocked, and yells "listen you two, I don't know if you're being funny or what, but I think this is a VERY serious matter!"

"Calm down" says Ail in a very indifferent tone "we'll just get some extra work at the village and buy some more food. However..."

As Ail looks at Reimu she continues for him "however, we should ration what we eat for the moment, just to make sure we can make it through the winter."

Mima rests her head on her hands behind herself and looks as though she doesn't care as she says "well, good luck with all of that!"

Kyo, Reimu and Ail look at her, all with little glints in their eyes then Mima backs away and says "hey, hey, I'm a spirit, I don't need to eat, so I don't have to work or anything like that, got it!?"

Suddenly Mima finds herself with Reimu and Kyo, helping them fulfill requests from the villagers.

"And why does Ail have to stay behind?" asks the evil spirit, sounding high and mightily annoyed.

Reimu casually replies "because there's very little he can do to help in his current state. Besides, he said he had other plans to help."

* * *

Back at the shrine Ail has dug several straight lines on the dirt at the back of the shrine, and is planting many seeds with his little hands.

From the front of the shrine he hears "Ail!? We're heeeeere!"

Ail flies to the front and greets the Aki sisters and immediately bows to them and says "thank you very much for coming in such short notice."

Quite a few green stars came from his chest fall on Shizuha's and Minoriko's arms, and both giggle as he looks at this event and wags his tail while still in mid-air, then he signals them to follow him to the back, and while they walk there, Shizuha whispers to her little sister "he looks so cute, doesn't he?" Minoriko giggles.

Ail hears everything but just sighs and when they reach the nice but tiny garden he made, Minoriko immediately understands.

The doggy-boy then says "once you bless this, I'll use my energy manipulation to make them grow faster."

Minoriko looks worried and says "well, this is no big deal for me, but it's going to be dangerous for you."

Ail shakes his head and says "I have to help here somehow; so what's a few days in bed, hmm?"

Minoriko nods then blesses the small garden, and then Ail places his hands on the ground and makes many kinds of vegetables grow.

He lets out a loud *phew* as he gets a large box and starts placing the vegetables there, then he says "I LOVE Gensokyo!"

The Aki sisters giggle and help him a little, and then he repeats the seeding process so that they may grow more and more vegetables.

* * *

By noon, Reimu, Kyo and Mima are so tired that they are walking to the shrine, instead of flying.

"Man" starts Kyo "who could have though Orin was such a slave-driver."

Reimu smiles weakly and says "yeah. Too bad the yama closed off her restaurant... and in only 5 hours too."

Mima, placing both hands behind her head says "at least we still got paid. Eirin, however... was a pain in my non-physical butt."

All three shudder then Reimu says "please, don't remind me. I just can't understand how that Udonge girl can take it? In any case we collected enough money to buy enough food tomorrow for the winter."

As they climb the stairs they can hear the Aki sisters saying "aww, so cute. Look at him twitching his ears like that."

"Yeah. I wonder if he'll be alright, though."

All three look at each other and hurry up the stairs, and head to the back of the shrine where the Aki sisters are patting dog-Ail, who is on the ground with his eyes spinning and his ears twitching.

Beside them are four large boxes, all filled with all kinds of vegetables, and one more box filled with some fruits.

"Oh, you're back" comments Minoriko before getting up and dusting her dress.

Shizuha grabs a hold of Ail, gets up and says "he overdid himself," then hands him to Mima and adds "he used a lot of energy to grow all of these. You should be fine for the winter now."

Minoriko adds "and all blessed by yours truly here, so a little thanks is in order!"

Without hesitation, Reimu, Mima and Kyo give her a bit of the money they made, and then after patting Ail on the head one last time Minoriko and Shizuha fly back to their home.

Once all the boxes of vegetable and fruits are inside the storage house Kyo goes back to the shrine, where Ail sleeps wrapped up in white sheets, Mima is looking outside the window as if waiting for something, and Reimu is serving tea.

"He's one crazy little guy, that Ail" suddenly says Reimu before she sips on her tea.

Mima goes to get her cup, and Kyo grabs his cup and says "back home he was always so quiet, and he used to do a lot of favors for me, my friends, my family and his family as well of course. Heheh, seeing him angry was rare, but a funny treat."

Mima grabs the sleeping Ail, who lets out a low "rowl?" but continues to sleep while she looks at him for a bit and says "I wonder if he'll turn back to human? He's been a dog for a while now."

Reimu looks at Mima as if realizing something then says "you're right! I'm starting to worry. What if it's permanent?"

Kyo gets a bit upset and says "now, come on! Eirin said it could take weeks, and it's only been what... one week? Let's not lose our faith here!"

Mima and Reimu giggle and say "**you're right!**"

* * *

At night Sakuya drops down on the Hakurei Shrine's porch, covered in wounds and some sort of slime. She manages to get halfway into the shrine right before collapsing.

By the time she wakes up she's resting in a futon while Kyo is beside himself with worry and pacing around, Mima keeps drinking heavily with Suika, Ail is still asleep rolled around the white sheets, and Reimu is placing a fresh wet towel on her head.

Spotting the shrine maiden, Sakuya says "Reimu, we need your help."

The red and white, looking annoyed, asks "what did you do this time?"

The elegant maid sits up and says "Patchouli's experiment went bad. It's running lose inside the mansion, and it has absorbed both Koakuma and Patchouli into it's body, and it grew. It's hunting down the young mistresses."

Reimu looks very annoyed now and says "and if it's not stopped, it'll eat the vampires then go outside and try to eat everyone else, right?"

Kyo bravely shouts "I'll go and destroy that thing single-handed!"

Reimu throws a yin-yang ball at Kyo and says "you have no chance against something that did all THIS to Sakuya, so you stay here. I'll look for Marisa and-"

Reimu feels a tug on her skirt; it is Ail who says "take me with you."

Reimu shakes her head and says "I don't think so. In your current state you'll only get in the way. Better sit this one out, ok?"

"But I can help" insists the little doggy, then Reimu looks into his eyes for a moment, picks him up by the back of his neck, then says "I'll be back soon. Kyo, make sure these two don't destroy the shrine, take care of Sakuya, and keep Ail in that room. I'll see you all later."

Reimu leaves to look for Marisa right after Ail is locked up in a small room with nowhere to go; although he feels some air coming from under a board.

With a little effort he manages to lift the board, making a loud creaking sound when doing so, however nobody outside seems to notice so he squeezes himself under the board and crawls under the shrine then exits through the right side of the shrine by digging under the foundation.

He looks at the moon and notices it's looking a little red, and feeling anxious about it he decides to head directly to the mansion while keeping a low profile, and with that small body that is going to be easy. And so he flies as close to the trees as he can, to avoid detection by Reimu or Marisa.

* * *

Arriving at the mansion doggy-Ail notices the gate is locked, but there's no gatekeeper in sight.

Without hesitation he goes through the bars of the gates; his body being so small it makes it that easier, but when he reaches the front door and realizes it is too big for him to open.

From inside he hears screaming and explosions; there was no time to lose, however Marisa and Reimu arrive just then, are already flying over the gate.

Ail hides quickly enough to avoid being seen while Marisa and Reimu open the door and leave it open.

"Sakuya mentioned the creature absorbed Patchouli and Koakuma, so be on your guard." said Reimu.

Marisa smirks and says "heh, don't you worry about me, ze. I'll just blast that monster with my Master Spark and be back home before we know it!"

They walk inside the mansion and Reimu says "yeah, you're probably right."

Ail follows behind them when they hear blasts coming from the top floors and Remilia shouting "Meiling, Flan! Look out!"

Reimu and Marisa rush upstairs followed by Ail, but he stops for a moment after noticing a book that is about to fall through the handrail grills.

He picks it up and instinctively looks inside, finding a creature that looks like a gelatinous blob; under the picture of the creature are many instructions, and so he keeps on reading.

On the second floor Reimu and Marisa find Remilia and Flandre, both looking terrified.

The vampires cling to the humans and shout "**we can't stop it.**"

"It has Meiling now" adds Remilia while clinging on to Reimu.

Flandre keeps holding on to Marisa quite tightly and shouts "the monster wants to eat us!"

Reimu starts to shout "calm down, calm down," and just then a large crystal colored blob enters the corridor, and inside it, encased in large crystals are Koakuma, Patchouli and Meiling, who has terrified look on her face while frozen inside that crystal.

It also has another, smaller crystal that beats just like a heart. Both Reimu and Marisa gulp and start shooting their danmaku at the monster, but the creature opens up its mouth and absorbs the shots, then launches four tentacles from random locations of its body. All panic and jump out of the way just in time.

As they run back from where they came Reimu shouts "what the HELL was Patchouli doing!?"

Remilia, almost crying in fear and trying to hide it with bravery, says "I don't know. I just want it gone, now!"

Reimu says in a low tone of voice "so much for charisma..."

From behind them, multi-colored crystals, blue lasers and bubble-like danmaku comes flying toward them, and they barely avoid the shots that explode just in front of them.

Reimu turns around surprised and says "those were... Meiling's Colorful Rain, and Patchouli's Princess Undine?"

Flandre, now crying, shouts "it uses their power without using spell cards! Make it go awayyyy!"

Reimu makes her stand; she pulls out a spell card and shouts "Spirit Sign, Fantasy Seal -FADER-!"

Marisa shudders when she hears the declaration. Countless charms, red danmaku and yin-yang balls fly toward the creature harming it on impact. The monster gurgles and roars in pain.

"It's working" shouts Marisa, and then joins in by pulling out her Hakkero and shouting "Love Sign, Master Spark!"

The blast reaches the monster, making it roar louder, and now both Flandre and Remilia join in as well.

"Scarlet Sign, Scarlet Shoot!" shouted Remilia, followed by Flandre who declares "Taboo, Laevatein!"

The monster roared louder and louder as its body gets new and wider holes from the bullets.

Marisa shouts "It's working, just a little more!"

Her Master spark is just about to reach the monster's heart when it suddenly launches four more tentacles and capturing them all in a flash.

It takes both Marisa and Reimu into its mouth and encases them inside crystals when they are inside it's body, then grows in size as Remilia frees one of her arms and cuts Flandre lose.

"Onee-chan" shouts Flandre as Remilia is swallowed by the monster, joining the rest inside of it.

* * *

Back at the shrine Kyo is already drunk when he goes to check on Sakuya.

"Miss Sakuya?" asks Kyo as he enters the room, but gets no answers.

He gets closer to the futon and slowly realizes Sakuya is gone. He runs so fast to where Mima and Suika are that he screeches when skidding on the floor before shouting "SAKUYA IS GONE!"

Mima goes from dead drunk sacred and worried, and shouts "WHAT!? Reimu'll KILL US! Get Ail, we have to find her!"

Kyo opens the door to the small room, and found only brooms. He turns pale and shouts "HE'S GONE TOO!"

Suika springs up to her feet and says "in cases like these..." she pauses and looks at Mima, then at Kyo, and then continues "...hiding is the BEST choice!"

All three at the same time lift their right hands in the air saying "RIGHT!" then they run away from the shrine with Suika saying "don't forget the sake!"

* * *

Back at the mansion, Flandre reaches the first floor right after avoiding a Master Spark from the monster.

She breathes fast as she runs, and stumbles against everything in her path, and keeps constantly falling to the floor and springing back up. Many fairy maids try to stop the monster, but they all become food for it.

After reaching the stairs that lead to the Mansion's exit, she continues to run as fast as she can to the door.

The monster launches another tentacle and wraps it around Flandre's leg. She shrieks as she falls and claws the floor to try to pull herself free, but the monster, with some effort, slowly pulls her back.

Something cuts the crystal-colored tentacle allowing Flandre to escape, and then something grabs the blonde and almost instantly pulls her to the first floor.

When the little girl looks at her savior she smiles as Sakuya asks "are you alright young mistress?"

Flandre, still trembling, nods and wipes the tears from her eyes, then Sakuya looks to the monster's direction and says "my lady, you must hide outside while I take care of this creature."

Flandre looks at Sakuya with tears welling up under her eyes and says "but... no, you can't-"

The maid sternly replies "wipe those tears and listen up! You are the Young Mistress! Remilia is gone, which makes you the mistress of this house, so straighten up and be brave! Now stop worrying; I will come and get you when this thing is dead!"

Flandre stops shaking, gulps and holds her tears back, then as she heads out the door she shouts "then I order you to not let that thing eat you;" and then she shuts the door behind her.

Sakuya smiles and says "don't worry, that thing will never be able to stomach me!"

She turns to face the monster, looks at it menacingly, and then shouts "COME ON AT ME!"

She pulls out a spell card and shouts "Strange Art, Misdirection!"

Time stops around her as many daggers materialize where she is, then she appears on another side and more daggers head the monster's way.

She lands so many daggers into the creature she manages to scratch the crystal heart inside of it making it thrash about and roaring in pain.

Sakuya smiles as she feels great satisfaction from her accomplishment.

She is about to declare another spell card when the monster suddenly shoots her with Marisa's Master Spark and blasts her against the door of the mansion, breaking it in the process and knocking the maid out.

* * *

Flandre now sits near the edge of the island where her home is, anxious about what is happening, when she hears a loud roar, followed by a bang.

"Sakuya" she shouts as she heads back to the mansion immediately.

She runs back to her home as fast as she can back, and upon arriving there she sees Sakuya knocked down on the ground next to Meiling's flower garden, while in front of the gate is Ail.

"Little-big brother" exclaims Flandre. She runs to him, kneels in front of him and asks "what are you doing here?"

Ail looks at her while holding the book he was reading before, and says "I am going to help you destroy that thing."

Flandre shivers a little while the little doggy continues "listen, we can do it, but you have to be brave and work together with me, alright?"

Flandre nods, then Ail says "alright, you see that empty crystal inside the monster?"

The blonde vampire looks at it as it struggles to get out of the mansion and spots the empty crystal that beats just like a heart, and then says "I see it. It's like a heart!"

Ail nods and says "that's the monster's weak point. I am going to distract it and you must grab that crystal's eye and break it, do you understand?"

The vampire hugs the little doggy tightly and says "I already tried, and nothing happened. We need more help!"

Ail, in a strict tone that makes his voice sound a bit less squeaky, says "Flan, be brave. Trust me on this. You CAN do this. I will help you. Do it for Sakuya, for Marisa... for all your friends and family."

Flandre lets go of Ail while she sobs a bit, then wipes her tears and nods to him. Ail bows his head and walks as fast as he can to the monster's direction and says "I'll distract it and you break it! It'll be fun!"

Just like that Flandre's face becomes a bit twisted as she smiles and says "yeah... I can break this... and it'll be fun, like before... only... only..."

As Ail faces the monster he thinks "_from a destructive little monster, to a regular little girl... maybe my meddling messed her up more than it helped. One thing remains certain though; her innocence is as pure as it comes._"

The monster finally frees itself from the front door and spots Ail, then extends another tentacle and grabs him.

Flandre screams for him, but Ail shouts back "NOW FLAN! DO IT NOW!"

She instinctively grabs the eye of the monster's heart and clenches her fist just as the monster swallows Ail.

The crystal inside it cracks in various places, but it doesn't break and the monster starts thrashing around violently in pain, breaking open the gate as it thrashes toward Flandre.

The little blonde drops on her knees while still smiling, and says "It... it didn't work. I'm so sorry."

She closes her eyes and waits to be eaten, but just then Ail's small body starts to emanate orange energy that expands more and more.

The monster stops in its tracks as if completely frozen, and then Ail's body explodes; the explosion concentrates on the monster's heart and shatters it into dust.

The monster's body slowly melts like a giant iceberg on lava, and is absorbed by the ground.

* * *

One by one, all of those who were absorbed by the monster get up from the ground.

"O-Onee-chan, Marisa... EVERYONE! You're all ok;" shouts Flandre as she flaps her wings and lunges at Remilia, hugging her tight when they make contact.

Remilia pats her little sister on the head and says "yes, yes, we're all fine!"

Marisa grabs Patchouli by the collar of her robes and shouts "what the HELL were you thinking, bringing that thing here!?"

Patchouli looks as though nothing has happened as she frees herself from the black and white's grip, dusts her clothes, and then says "it was a simple miscalculation from my part; but it's been taken care of so there's no reason to get angry."

She spots her book and says "I'm impressed Flan. You understood this book?"

Flandre lets Remilia go and looks at the book; looking confused and says "I didn't read that. Little-big brother did!"

Reimu sits on the ground while rubbing her head, then asks "little-big who?"

Koakuma gasps saying "oh no. Reimu, lady Patchouli, come quick!"

Remilia and Meiling make their way to the mansion's gate and find Sakuya lying on the ground. When Meiling grabs the maid she says "don't worry, it's us."

Sakuya lets go of a knife she had on her hand, and then drops her head to look at Remilia who tells her "you performed admirably Sakuya. Take five." The chief maid softly replies "thank you my lady."

They hear Koakuma sobbing and head straight to where she is.

Reimu looks pale, her eyes remain unblinking and widely open, Marisa is quiet and keeps pulling her hat down to cover her face.

Patchouli looks on, saying nothing while Koakuma stands sobbing quietly by her side and looking down on the ground.

Flandre sobs while clinging on Marisa, and then Remilia and Meiling arrive to see the small body of doggy-Ail on the ground, unmoving and lifeless.

Reimu takes a quick breath and manages to weakly say "I... I told him to stay..."

She then touches the body; it is cold and stiff, and then it turns into light and flies to the sky, vanishing from sight.

Reimu's eyes start getting glassy as she repeats "I-I told him to stay..."

She then looks at the others, and notices that even Sakuya, who just got up, looks saddened.

Just when Reimu is about to lose it as she drops hard the ground while gripping her forehead, from one of the trees they hear a familiar voice call "hey! Somebody help! I'm stuck!"

Everyone gasp at the same time and say "**Ail!?**" and quickly find him about two trees behind them back in his human form; hanging upside down from a tree branch that caught his boot.

He looks at them and says "come on guys, I'm really stuck!"

Meiling flies up and grabs his boot, pulls him from the branch, and just as he thanks her she lets him go, dropping him hard on the ground.

"Ow, geez, what was THAT for!?" he comments while rubbing his head.

Suddenly, all the girls come rushing to him shooting danmaku and swinging whatever weapon they can find while shouting "you idiot!" "We really thought you were dead!" "Don't do that again!"

Once they all reached his cowering figure, they all drop and group-hug him. Full of bruises and cuts from the countless danmaku shot his way, the boy becomes really confused as they all now hug him like that while happily crying "you're alive!" "I can't believe it!" "Don't do that again!"

* * *

At the dining room of the Scarlet Devil Mansion everyone is having tea and cookies, including Meiling and Sakuya, while the fairy maids fix and clean the mansion (since they don't really need to eat).

"So after reading about the monster's weakness I knew only Flan had enough power to crack that thing, however I wasn't expecting it to crack so fast" explains Ail as he takes another cookie from the plate in front of him.

Sakuya, who is feeling much better, says "maybe my knives helped. I was able to scratch that thing a few times before it got me; but sure as hell I wasn't expecting such a beat-down."

Meiling, looking a bit confused, turns to Ail and asks "but how did you do that? I lost consciousness as soon as the thing swallowed me."

All the others agree to her statement, and then the boy says "in the book Patchouli left behind there are instructions on how to maintain some level of consciousness while inside those crystals. Still, I used more power than that dog body could handle. I really did die for a moment at least. I saw all of you and even my body as I drifted up to the sky. Something pushed me back in though. A girl that said 'it's not your time'; and that's why I couldn't recall what had happened immediately. My mind was sort or blank."

Reimu looks at Ail with relief evident in her face and says "I'm glad you're alive though. I would have killed you twice if you had really died;" she then takes some tea and some cookies as well.

Ail keeps quiet for a moment, then says "I think we're forgetting to celebrate the real hero here. It took a lot of guts to take on that monster, right Flan?"

Flandre has fallen asleep on the table with a cookie still held tightly in her hand. Meiling grabs the little blonde just as Remilia says "Meiling, take her to her room. There is something we need to talk about now, Reimu."

Once Meiling leaves the room Remilia says "Reimu, Marisa, and you too Ail, listen up. Something funny is going on around Gensokyo. I have been having very bad feelings lately."

Reimu nods and says "I have felt it too, but like I told Iku who told me something similar before, there is nothing we can do about it now. All we can do is wait and see."

Marisa lies back on the chair's backrest and says "aw, if anything happens Reimu will take care of it, right reddie?"

Reimu glares at Marisa and says "what if I don't WANT to take care of it?"

Ail quietly chuckles, then Reimu turns her attention to him and says "careful, mutt, or I might just add another week of fleas for you!"

She then shows him a vial with that same indigo colored liquid that had turned him to a dog before.

He jumps high to the ceiling and clings tight to it while shouting "don't even kid around with that!"

Reimu laughs, opens the vial and drinks it. All in the room look worried, but when she's finished drinking she says "relax, it's only juice."

All but Patchouli laugh as Reimu places the empty vial back in her pockets.

Marisa gets up and says "it's time we headed home, ze. Patchouli, try and keep your experiments to a minimum once in a while."

Reimu, Marisa and Ail fly through the broken door and then the gate, where Meiling is stationed for the rest of the night while they repair the damages to the entrance of the mansion.

* * *

After reaching the shrine Reimu invites the sleepy Marisa to sleep over.

Ail falls asleep the second his head hit the pillow, then Reimu, after preparing Marisa's futon, also falls fast asleep as soon as she gets into her own futon.

Meanwhile, Mima, Suika and Kyo sleep soundly next to the stairs that lead to the shrine and countless bottles of sake.

The next morning Kyo and Mima reach the top of the long stairs and are greeted by Reimu, who is sweeping the floor at that moment.

She smiles at them and says "well, had a good camping trip? I do hope you enjoyed yourselves."

Kyo and Mima look at each other, and then Mima says "you don't look that handsome in the mornings;" and then Kyo replies "look who's talking. You sure you don't need some makeup or something?"

Mima pouts and looks at Kyo with the corner of her eyes, and in a dangerous tone she says "watch iiiit!"

Reimu giggles and says "you two could make a very nice couple. You certainly were made for each other."

"You certainly are in a good mood today. Something happen?" asks Kyo.

Reimu smiles and says "I got one less load today. Ail turned back to human last night."

Kyo and Mima open their eyes wide and rush to the living quarters to find Ail in his human form staring at Marisa's nose bubble.

He looks at both, waves and says "hi. Had a nice camping trip?"

Mima and Kyo look at each other, then Kyo rushes to give his pal a hug saying "you're back dude," then Mima says "I see... Reimu DOES have good taste, doesn't she?"

Ail smiles and stares blankly at Mima as a question mark forms above his head, then Mima turns around, shrugs and says "never mind."

At that very moment Marisa's nose bubble pops and the witch wakes up babbling about magical equations and pi, then drops back down to sleep some more.

After a bit Ail goes to the front of the shrine and is about to fly to town when he suddenly feels like thorns are constricting his heart; there is something in the atmosphere and has him holding on to his chest out of pain.

When he looks at Reimu she is also holding her chest with both her hands, and after gasping for air she asks "did you feel that too!?"

From inside the shrine Marisa comes rushing to the front shouting "Reimu; Reimu! Did you feel that? Ail, you too?"

All three look toward the cave that leads to the underground hell. The shrine maiden glowers and says "something bad... something really bad is happening down there. We better go and check it out, now."

Ail nods then calls Kyo, but he doesn't come so Anilan goes to the living room and calls "hey Kyo, what's the-?"

Mima is holding her sides as she writhes around in pain, but she can't scream although it seems as if she is trying to.

Kyo holds her as he says "she said she would be fine after a while... Ail, go. We'll head to town and check on the people there after she gets better; now go!"

Ail goes back to the front and says "Mima looks like she's in pain; a lot of pain."

Reimu points to the forest, and then Ail hears the cries of many youkai.

"What is going on now?" shouts Ail as he, Marisa and Reimu take off into the air and fly toward the underground caves.

Reimu says "we that are human can feel this and it hurts us. Just imagine what this is doing to the youkai who are already very sensitive to spiritual and atmospheric activities. Iku must be going nuts by now."

* * *

At the deepest levels of the underground Okuu flies around and checks everything, as she usually does, then realizes her crow buddies are all flying away from there.

"Hey wait you guys" shouts Okuu as she follows the hell crows. "What's going on? Why are you guys acting like that?"

One of the crows gets close and sounding very frightened he says "this is bad, very bad *caw*. Gotta get away! Run away!"

The moment the crow is done Okuu shouts and holds her chest, then turns back to a crow and falls down to the lava. The other crows grab her in time and fly her back up to Satori's mansion.

One of the crows spots a large purple crystal that slowly reveals itself as the lava lowers. The crystal is surrounded by a very dark glow and emanates powerful energy from within.

The crow panics after looking at it and flies away along with the rest of the crows back to the mansion.

Back at the cave's entrance, and looking quite grim, Marisa, Reimu and Ail have just entered at full speed and move without pause to the deepest parts.

They notice Kisume's bucket is empty but realize she is inside a hollow rock instead, hugging herself and shaking her head.

They quickly pass Yamame who has wrapped herself in her own web to escape the tormenting energy, and notice that all the creatures of the cave are on the ground, writhing around in pain.

They pass through the bridge to the Ancient City and spot Parsee herself holding the handrail tightly and trying not to fall down.

As they pass the Former Streets of Hell, Yuugi, who looks as well as ever flies, besides them and asks "HEY; What's up everybody? Hey, what's with the long faces?"

Reimu struggles to speak and asks "Yuugi...? Don't you feel that?"

The large oni looks a little puzzled and says "well there IS something going on... but it's not affecting me at all."

Marisa chuckles and says "then you must be a tough girl, ze! Want to come with use down to the hell fires?"

Yuugi thinks about it then casually says "sure, why not!?"

Reimu looks at Ail, who looks as though he is going to be sick, and asks "Ail, what's the matter..?" *gasp*" Reimu remembers Ail is half youkai and shouts "just hang in there. If you think you can't take it head back outside immediately!"

Ail nods, smiles, then says "I-I can take it!"

* * *

Back at the shrine Kyo keeps holding Mima when Suika arrives, looking dangerously serious

"Suika, are you ok?" he asks.

The oni trembles a bit and weakly says "Kyo, we need you at the village, now!"

The boy looks shocked then asks "but what about Mima!?"

Suika, looking even more dangerously serious says "I can feel it too, but I can take it unlike her. She'll be fine after Reimu fixes this. Just leave her on some pillows and come. I need your help with the villagers."

Something about Suika doesn't seem right to Kyo, but doesn't hesitate to place Mima on a futon, then saying "we'll be back soon! Let's go Suika!"

Suika grabs Kyo by the arms and flies with him to the village. On the way there, they spot Rumia and Mystia sitting against a tree, passed out but well, while Wriggle has many bugs surround her and keep her suspended from a branch.

The muscled boy studies the scene then says "this is terrible. What's going on?"

Suika, looking almost angry now, says "a massive energy is coming from somewhere in Gensokyo. It's so strong, even humans can feel it. It gives them pain. That's why I need you. They were building new house and the whole thing collapsed on them, leaving five of them trapped underneath the roof. We have to get them out!"

Kyo looks at Suika and asks "Suika, what is wrong? Why are you so mad?"

The oni and the boy land in the village entrance, then Suika says "this dark energy... it's affecting me differently, that's why I need your help to get those villagers out of there, so I can get away fast; or I might do something I'll regret later!"

She takes a really big gulp from her gourd, making herself look a little less threatening, and then she says "let's go!"

All the villagers look very sick, and the few that feel strength in them are trying to lift the large roof to free the five people that are stuck underneath.

Kyo takes a deep breath and shouts "out of the way, the cavalry has arrived!"

As soon as the humans back away, Suika takes one side and Kyo the other, then he says "on three... THREE!"

They lift the roof and four people come running out, then Kyo spots the fifth one on the floor and shouts "HEY! SOMEONE GET HIM OUTTA THERE!"

Keine comes running out of nowhere and pulls the villager out as quickly as she can, then as soon as they let go of the roof Suika covers her eyes and blindly runs to the village's other exit, breaking part of the wall after she misses the gateway.

"Suika!" shouts Keine, but Kyo stops her and tells her "let her go! She needs to get away, fast! And what about you; are you alright?"

The history teacher sits down, holds her chest and says "better than many. Thanks to you and Suika the villagers are safe. Thank you so much."

Kyo nods then says "now it's time I head back to the shrine."

Keine looks at Kyo then says "you sure look well. A-Aren't you affected by this?"

Kyo smiles and says "I am; I'm used to pain by now" then runs back to the shrine.

* * *

Back at the underground, Marisa, Reimu, Ail and Yuugi have found Satori, Orin, Okuu and Koishi, and like the rest, all are on the ground holding their chests tightly.

One of the many crows that are perched all around the house's ceiling flies to Reimu and caws like mad while flying in circles above her head.

"Crap, I wish I could understand what it's saying" says the shrine maiden with frustration.

Satori struggles to reach Reimu and tugs her skirt to get her attention and says "h-he's...saying... there's a dark...c-crystal... releasing this... this energy... below... hurry...!"

Before Reimu responds Ail is already heading to the Hellfires, followed by Yuugi. Reimu and Marisa follow them quickly as well, and when they reach him Marisa asks "do you know where you're going?"

Ail nods and says "the energy is stronger this way. Come on!"

After reaching the back of the mansion they all go straight into the hole leading to the Hellfires, and once down there Ail spots the crystal almost immediately, and then points at it ad says "there it is!"

They find a small cool platform to land on and think of a plan; however Ail flies toward the crystal and tries to kick it, but it is so hot his boots catch fire long before they impact it.

He regroups with the others and jumping on one foot as he puts out the fire on his boots, and says "we need to push that thing back into the lava."

Reimu exclaims "how do you know that!?"

Ail shouts back "I just do. I don't know why but I JUST DO!"

Marisa pushes them both apart and says "calm down, ze. If we kill each other now then nobody's going to save anyone here!"

Reimu looks at Ail saying "sorry... it's-"

Ail nods says "I know... I'm sorry. I lost my head."

Meanwhile, back at the shrine, Kyo finds Mima just where he left her.

She is still unconscious; however Kyo feels something behind him.

Suika, looking menacingly at him, stomps hard on the ground to get his full attention. Her eyes look red and she looks furious.

She starts to swing her chain around and whips it on the ground, making a hole where the chain hits.

Kyo knows one hit from her means his death, and with this knowledge present, he watches her as she takes her chain back to prepare for another attack.

Back at the hellfires, Yuugi has grabbed a large stone and says "I'll get that under there for you!"

She throws the large rock straight at it, but when it impacts the crystal it only makes it crack, thus making it release even more evil energy.

* * *

Back at the shrine Suika is throwing punches at Kyo and is using a lot of her power; to the point that some of her punches and kicks are followed by explosions.

"_Shit, I have to get out of here, or she's going to kill me_;" thinks Kyo as he grabs a branch from one of the trees and sling-shots himself to the air; though Suika follows quickly after him.

While in the air she pulls out a spell card, however Kyo can't see it or hear the declaration, and to him he's suddenly surrounded by danmaku.

He summons his shield energy and is able to reflect a lot of the bullets back to Suika, but there are too many and he gets caught off guard and many of the bullets land on his back.

He falls to the ground but recovers quickly and as he jumps out of the way of Suika's follow-up punch that was going straight at him.

When the smoke clears, beneath Suika's fist is a hole large enough for a car to fall in.

Kyo opens his eyes wide and says "she really IS out to get me!"

He panics and runs inside the Bamboo Forest, buying much needed time by hiding behind the bamboo shoots, and even when Suika sniffs around she is unable to pick up on the boy's scent.

"_This is bad... if she catches my scent, I'm a goner. I better move on_;" thinks Kyo before he starts to run.

Suika hears his footsteps and launches a powerful blast to where Kyo was just hiding, then begins the chase.

Kyo arrives at Eientei and realizes Suika is right behind him, however he cannot see her at all.

Behind him, a thick mist stealthily approaches him, and when it gets close enough to him, it starts releasing crystals at the muscled boy.

"Shit, it's her" shouts Kyo as he dodges as many of the crystals as he can while reflecting others back, but then Suika turns back to normal and lands a punch so powerful it breaks Kyo's shield and sends him to the Eientei Mansion.

Kyo calls for help, but when he looks inside the living room he sees Reisen, Tewi and Kaguya unconscious.

Suika jumps high and swings her fist, preparing it for one final attack, and just as she is about to land, a barrage of lasers and arrows mercilessly beat on the oni and knock her out cold.

Kyo looks to the clinic, and there is Eirin, looking pale and almost sick yet still holding her bow steadily on her left hand.

She walks toward Kyo and asks "a-are you... are you alright?"

Kyo struggles a little, but manages to get up and says "yes, thank you so much. I owe you my l-"

Eirin collapses before Kyo finishes speaking, so he sighs and grabs her just before she's on the floor and gently places her next to the others in the mansion.

Suika has weakened Kyo a lot. He is now holding his chest and gritting his teeth in pain.

He tries with all his might to resist it, but it is too much for him and so drops to the ground next to Eirin.

* * *

At the hellfire depths Ail holds on to one of the larger rocks so he doesn't fall into the lava, and by now even Yuugi is feeling the effects of the evil energy emanating from the crystal.

"Ail... Reimu" shouts the oni as both of them keep looking worst by the second, though both try to hide it, while Marisa and Yuugi are the only ones who can still stand straight.

Suddenly Reimu says "Marisa... use your Master Spark... ai-aim it... aim it... ugh!"

She can't continue speaking and has to hold her chest tightly, so Yuugi grabs a hold of her and then Ail, who looks about ready to collapse.

On Yuugi's arms, the boy lifts his head and says "aim your... shot at... at a... thirty degree... angle...under the... crystal... urgh!"

Even though Marisa is starting to look a bit sick she realizes what they are saying, so she takes her Hakkero out from under her hat and points it at the lava, then shoots it without waiting for another second.

The lava splits up as the shot penetrates it, revealing the rest of the colossal dark crystal hidden by the magma.

Under it is a small mount where it is stuck tight, and Marisa blasts it just as the crystal begins emanating incredible amounts of dark energy.

Even Yuugi feels sharp pain in her chest, and yet it suddenly stops as the crystal falls back down into the hot lava, going back to the depths of the Former Hell where it belongs.

When the lava settles, the evil energy stops flowing immediately, and Ail and Reimu recover almost instantly as well as outside where everyone, even Kyo, recovers instantly like magic, springing up to their feet as if nothing had happened.

Eirin and Reisen get up at the same time and say "**they did it! They stopped it!**"

Suika gets up and immediately heads toward Kyo and prostrates herself in front of him, and says "Kyo, I'm sorry, I couldn't help myself. I don't know what came over me! Please forgive me!"

Kyo thinks about it for a moment, grins, and then says "I'll forgive you on one condition."

Suika jumps off the floor and excitedly says "anything; just name it!"

Kyo smirks and says "fight me again when spring comes."

Suika opens her eyes widely and asks "are you that suicidal?"

Kyo's grin widens and he says "I want to see how strong I can really become, and you're going to help me."

Suika smiles, then jumps at the boy and hugs him so hard his back cracks.

Back at the Hellfires, Ail and Reimu congratulate Marisa and thank Yuugi for her help, but then they notice a black blob slithering its way back to the top and their short celebrations stop.

"AFTER IT!" shouts Reimu after pointing at it, but by the time they all reach the mansion's courtyard the black blob is no longer in sight.

The shrine maiden facepalms hard and says "this... could be trouble."

"You're just exaggerating again" says Marisa, however Reimu doesn't respond, and Ail feels very uneasy.

Yuugi just laughs and says "come on, we stopped that crystal of evil thing! Let's relax and celebrate!"

From out of nowhere she pulls out a full large cup of sake and drinks it all in one gulp.

* * *

Back outside the cave Ail and Orin burst out running at incredible speeds. After panting a bit, the kasha says "im-impossible. You're still... as fast as... me!"

Ail, after catching his breath says "you're... lucky I... haven't been training!"

From behind them Reimu and Marisa fly out of the cave, then the shrine maiden, sounding annoyed, sarcastically says "so you finish your little race? Whoopie... let's go home. We didn't get to eat any breakfast this morning, and I'm STARVING!"

Ail and Marisa's stomachs start to grumble loudly, and then they laugh; the boy says goodbye to Orin, who flies back inside the cave, and follows Marisa and Reimu back to the shrine.

Back at the shrine Kyo, Suika, Alice and Mima have already prepared a meal for them to celebrate their victory, however when they are done eating Reimu looks outside at the afternoon sky glumly.

She grabs a cup of tea and kneels by the porch, and then Ail comes along and says "I feel it's presence too. Whatever it is, it's out there."

Reimu, sounding a little sarcastic says "really? And I suppose you can also tell me where it is right now?"

Ail points to the direction of the Bamboo Forest, and then the Forest of Magic, and then says "it's been moving between those two points for some time now."

Reimu sips on her tea and says "very good. However you missed Eientei and the village."

The boy smiles at her and says "I'm not that good yet."

Reimu turns serious and says "it's already been inside and out of Eientei and it's gone through the entire village twice. It's searching for something."

"It's searching for a way out of Gensokyo" says a voice from above the shrine.

* * *

There are two women hovering above; one is tall and has blue eyes, green hair, and wears a dark blue black and white dress with golden decorations, and a blue and white hat with a gold emblem in front. She also has a thick sword-like tag in her hand; her Rod of Remorse.

Beside her is a slightly taller woman with short red hair tied on both sides in twin tails, has red eyes, and wears a white dress with a blue vest overtop.

She also wears a belt with a large coin tied in front, and carries a scythe with an odd whisp-like bending at the end.

Ail points at the red-haired girl and says "that's her. That's the girl that pushed me back to my body the other night!"

Reimu looks at Ail and says "that's Komachi Onozuka, shinigami. She carries dead spirits to their destinations across the Sanzu River... so you could say she's death."

Ail looks in awe and says "and who is-?" both girls float down and the green haired girl introduces herself. "I am Shikieiki Yamaxanadu. I have come to speak to you two; and the witch as well."

While Mima, Suika, Alice and Kyo are left behind inside the shrine, Ail, Reimu and Marisa are at the front, speaking to Shikieiki and Komachi.

The four of them try hard to listen to the conversation from inside, but even with Alice's dolls, this proves to be very hard to accomplish.

* * *

"Reimu, Marisa and Ail, you three and another companion saw the large crystal in the lava, am I correct?"

They all nod slowly to the Yama's questioning, and then she continues "I believe you also noticed something coming out from that crystal, am I right?"

Again, all three nod and Shiki lets out a soft growl; Komachi asks her to calm down, but doing so causes her boss to fume.

"How can I calm down? Listen to me, all three of you. That thing that escaped almost wiped out the entire planet out of all the humans a long time ago. It's only goal; it's only purpose is to eradicate humanity, and for this it was sealed inside that crystal, and was sunk deep into the lava pits of the former hell, however when we moved hell to its current location we left that prisoner there, thinking that crystal would never be discovered."

Reimu rubs her forehead with her index finger and thumb, then lowers her hands to her eyes and says "and when that bird-brain made the lava overflow it made the crystal rise. Please, you can tell me I'm wrong right now."

Shiki shakes her head and says "I'm afraid you are correct. Once it got out of the lava the creature inside broke free. That's why we all felt that powerful energy."

Marisa looks confused as she says "but if it's that powerful, why can't we sense it anymore, ze?"

Shikieiki looks at the three of them and says "your intervention didn't stop it from escaping, but you did manage to send it back down in time to keep its full power sealed inside."

Ail quickly says "then we should find it soon, before it gets its powers back!"

Eiki looks surprised at Ail and says "you are correct. You are far too wise for a young one."

"How do we find it?" asks Reimu. "Ail, Marisa and I can barely sense it anymore. It's gone into hiding."

Komachi looks at them with worry as Shiki says "I know. I will contact the other yamas and see what they suggest, but before I go, you boy. Can I have a word with you?"

* * *

Ail and Shikieiki walk close to the shrine's hot springs where she grabs Ail, pulls him down and whispers to him "you were brought to Gensokyo for a reason, and you were also given a third chance in life, now listen up! You have to train harder. You HAVE to master those powers of yours and you must! get! yourself! SOME SPELL CARDS! I hope things do not escalate so much but..."

The Yama releases Ail's shirt but he continues bending down close to her to listen closely as she says "...but if things DO escalate, you NEED to be ready. You HAVE to protect the shrine maiden at ALL COSTS, understand!?"

Ail looks at Reimu for a second then back at Shiki, who continues saying "you NEED spell cards, and you need to start controlling those barriers and gaps you keep using without knowledge. I do not know how badly this could turn out to be, but if you don't train then I guarantee you it won't end well!"

After she is done speaking she immediately looks for Komachi, who is drinking some sake and sitting by the donation box.

Eiki hits Komachi hard on the head with her Rod of Remorse and lectures her for some time.

Before they both leave Komachi looks worried as she waves at Reimu and Marisa, and then at Ail, but when she looks at him she lowers her eyes and flies away.

The boy walks to the donation box and sits where Komachi was, and then Reimu walks to him while Marisa sits close by, and the other four people there are already outside at the front of the shrine as well.

With those four talking amongst themselves the shrine maiden asks Ail "what did she say to you?"

The boy looks up to her eyes and says "I need to train and learn how to use my powers and abilities. I also need your help Reimu; to make my own spell cards."

Reimu and Marisa look at each other with great surprise, then the witch asks "think it's that serious, reddie?"

The shrine maiden thinks for a bit and then says "when the yama is this worried then it IS that serious, I'm afraid. Don't worry too much about it Ail; you'll have your own spell cards, and I'll try to help you a bit with your abilities. Yukari can't help now, since she always hibernates during winter."

He looks at Reimu a bit scared, but noticing this, the girl chuckles and says "don't worry. Knowing you, you'll probably master those powers quickly I am sure."

Alice, Suika, Mima and Kyo keep on looking at the others, wondering what is going on.

And so, the last leaves start to fall off the trees, signaling winter is soon to come, and Reimu, Marisa and Ail can only hope it is a peaceful one.

* * *

To be continued...

Characters and scenario belong to ZUN -Team Shanghai Alice-

Ail and Kyo were created by Willie G.R

JUN 29 2009

written by

Willie G.R.

**-Edited on JUN 17 2013 by Willie G.R.-**


	10. A Moment of Yakumo

At the house of the Yakumo, which is hidden somewhere at Mayohiga, Yukari calls Ran in a very demanding tone.

"Ran Yakumo, I am _calling_ you!" shouts Yukari.

Quick and hard steps can be heard coming from the other side of the house as the annoyed Ran shouts back "I'm coming, I'm coming."

She kneels by Yukari's door and opens it in a respectful manner, then says "excuse me for taking so long. Chen was having some trouble with her math problems."

Yukari waves her hand dismissively and says "never mind that and cut the formalities. It's being creepy. Ran; I need you to keep an eye on the Hakurei Shrine for me."

The nine-tailed fox looks surprised and asks "the Hakurei Shrine? Is there something wrong?"

Yukari smiles and says "after that excess of dark energy discharge I've been getting a very bad feeling. I want you to go there and tell me if anything out of the ordinary is happening. Anything at all, got it?"

Ran takes on a more serious demeanor and nods, then closes the door, but just before she finishes closing it Yukari adds "and make certain to look after yourself while out there. You know what I'm talking about, I hope?"

Ran says "of course. I'll be careful, Lady Yukari," and then she closes the door then heads to Chen.

She pats her shikigami on the head and sasy "Chen, I have to go out for a while, try to finish your math work and take care of Miss Yukari while I'm gone."

Chen stands up and salutes Ran, then says "leave it it me, Ran-sama!"

Ran shrieks and grabs hold of Chen then hugs her tightly, making her laugh while saying "Chen you're so CUTE!"

Ran's nose bleeds as she hugs the nekomata, then from behind her a gap opens up and comes followed by a quick punch from Yukari.

After letting go of Chen, Ran rubs her head then says "argh! Alright already, I'm going! See you later, Chen."

As Ran leaves, Chen goes outside and waves at Ran while shouting back "see you later Ran-sama. Come back soon! Have a safe trip!"

* * *

At the Hakurei Shrine Ran finds cover behind the leafless trees around the grounds, and is able to conceal her presence easily.

She looks around the back of the shrine but no one is there. She suddenly hears voices from inside the shrine and immediately hides.

When she takes another peek she sees Ail and Reimu, and can hear the shrine maiden saying "alright, let's begin the training. First, hit me with everything you got!"

Ail starts to shoot at Reimu but she dodges all his shots as if it's mere child's play, and then she shoots back.

The boy dodges quite skillfully and starts to shoot at the shrine maiden with his focused shots. Reimu dodges the shots but forgets the explosion on impact of those bullets and is sent flying toward Ail, however she used this chance to shoot at him from point blank, but as if expecting this, he moves away.

After recovering she says "very good; you have done pretty well so far. Let's see if you can keep it up."

The girl pulls out a spell card and declares "Divine Spirit, Fantasy Seal!"

Various orbs of light of red, blue, green, white, orange and yellow home in on Ail. He can't dodge them and is soon lying on the ground and coughing up smoke.

Reimu helps him up and all he can say is "ow, ow, ow. That really hurt."

Reimu scoffs and says "you are lucky I wasn't using my full power there. Right, we need to work on your defenses, they're pathetic."

Ail rubs his head and chuckles. During the course of the day, Ran continues to watch them train, however she soon realizes she's alone.

Rumia, Mystia, Sanae, Suwako, Kanako, Keine, Mokou, Alice, and even Marisa are all hiding behind the trees while watching them train.

Pretty soon all of them get together to watch the fight. Ran is in complete disbelief, but that stops when Reimu shouts "_hey_, what are you all doing there!?"

Ail calmly says "they probably want to see us train."

Reimu smiles that bloody smile only she can smile and says "well, you shouldn't be hiding. Why don't you come closer?"

All, but Ran and Marisa, quietly get closer while Rumia asks "is that so~?!"

Suddenly they all become targets for Reimu and Ail, who is ordered to attack or be punished.

Happy after dispensing punishment, Reimu dusts her hands and says "well, that's it for today. It turned out to be a REALLY good training session, wouldn't you agree?"

Ail hesitantly says "err... yeah. Um, is it ok to just leave them all there?"

Marisa and Ran, who are still hiding in the same spot, look at each other and then the witch says "geez, I can't believe them. Even Keine fell for that, ze."

Ran laughs saying "we got lucky she didn't see us..."

Suddenly they realize that Reimu is standing right behind them with her eyes glowing bloody red as she smiles and chuckles darkly, and says "and who says I didn't, heh heh he~!"

* * *

After arriving back home with her clothes in tatters, her face full of bruises, and one of her tails missing a chunk of hair, Ran limps inside and drops on the floor, and Chen runs to her and worriedly calls "Ran-sama, Ran-sama! What happened!?"

The cute nekomata is about to cry when her master pats her on the head and says "it's okay Chen. I'll be ok. I just need a little rest."

A small gap forms in front of Chen, and form there Yukari's voice says "Ran~, I want a report~."

The poor nine tailed vixen limps to Yukari's room, kneels in front of the door, and then opens it ceremoniously. Inside, Yukari is already smiling while signaling her shikigami to get closer.

Ran struggles getting up and limps to her master, then kneels next to her while the woman asks "Ran, didn't I tell you to take care of yourself?"

Ran sighs, then answers "circumstances arose and the shrine maiden found me after other forms of interferences were dealt with by the same said girl."

Yukari pats Ran on the head and says "at least it was her and not that thing. So, tell me. What's going on at the shrine right now?"

Ran perks up and says "Reimu is training Ail, although I don't understand exactly why. I did hear them talk about spell cards and talking about Ail's barrier powers. Although Reimu's reason for training him seems to be just a favor, Ail's reason for the training is..."

Yukari stares into Ran's eyes and impatiently says "yes, go on..."

Ran looks down and says "I felt urgency in him. I think he might be forcing himself for a very strong reason. His eyes... I saw despair in them."

Yukari smiles subtly, and then says "Ran, I want you to rest for the next five days. After that, I want you to head to the Hakurei Shrine and help Ail train. Teach him how to use those gaps as if it were me using them, understand? He needs to have mastered the power of barriers by spring."

Ran looks a bit puzzled then asks "but why not let Reimu? She seems to be doing a good job."

Yukari giggles and says "she'll get tired of the training and leave him on his own. I know he has Kyo there as well, but his friend can only help so much."

Ran nods then struggles to get up again, but just before she limps out of the room Yukari says "take Chen with you every two days, when you go train Ail. She's got one of the keys."

Ran looks at Yukari with great confusion, but she knows Yukari means something by her words.

* * *

Two days later Yukari wakes up from her hibernation one more time, though this time she heads straight outside to look for Ran.

When the shikigami spots her master outside she gasps then asks "M-Miss Yukari!? What's the matter, why are you awake!?"

Yukari yawns and signals Ran to calm down, then takes three letters out of her chest and gives them to Ran.

"I wasn't sure if I should do this, but I think it would be appropriate" says the gap youkai as the vixen stares at her.

She places her hand on Ran's and says "One is for Kyo, another for Ail, and the last one is for Reimu."

Ran notices that one of the letters is from the two girls from the outside that wanted to enter Gensokyo.

"Lady Yukari! Since when-?"

Yukari glares at Ran then says "I got them a little while ago. Got them before Reimu did... it wasn't easy; especially that last one... the one for Ail. Tell them you didn't know about these; although I would suggest you step away from Reimu; as far away from her as you can. Oh and tell Ail he won't have to become my apprentice after all. There won't be need of it."

Yukari pats Ran on the head, then Chen, who has just exited the room, asks "Lady Yukari? Are you ok? You're not sick, right?"

Yukari yawns again and says "I just had to talk to Ran for a bit. Now be a good girl and take care of Ran while I sleep, ok?"

Chen nods, her eyes sparkle, and then Ran's nose bleeds as she hugs the nekomata and keeps calling her cute.

Yukari floats back to her room then goes back to sleep; though just as she falls asleep she mumbles "Ail, don't be an idiot now... use it to your heart's content."

* * *

Snow starts to fall and the winter fairies come out to play. The five days of rest have passed and Ran is already leaving to go to the Hakurei Shrine at morning. "Chen~ take care of the place while I'm gone, and make sure Lady Yukari isn't disturbed."

From the kitchen Chen shouts "Okay. Have a safe trip."

The moment Ran steps outside she screams loudly. When Chen comes outside she finds her master suspended in mid-air while her body seems as though it's being squeezed hard.

Chen panics and screams "RAN-SAMA! What's the matter!?"

Ran's face starts turning blue; she is being suffocated. Realizing this Chen desperately lookd everywhere to see how she can help, but when she look inn Ran's eyes she notices how the nine tailed fox is slowly losing consciousness.

The young nekomata starts to cry and call out for Ran, and not a moment too soon a gap opens up and is quickly followed by a string of danmaku that is aimed toward the sun light.

The shadow of the danmaku impacts the shadow of Ran; or more accurately the shadow that's killing her.

The kitsune drops down on the snow-covered ground, coughs violently and gasps desperately for air.

Chen immediately checks on her master and also notices a large snake-shaped shadow wriggle away from the area.

Yukari comes out from another gap with an angry face aimed towards the direction of the shadow, but then quickly switches her face and angrily asks "Ran, speak to me, are you ok!?"

Ran gasps for air and then wheezes out a "yes."

Yukari calms down then says "change of plans. Ran, you take Chen and _STAY_ at the Hakurei shrine. Tell Reimu everything that happened here just now; every single detail, you understand? Chen?"

Then nekomata nods then Yukari continues "this cold is making me fall asleep already. Ran, Chen, fly above the trees, do NOT let your shadows touch the ground, not even for a second. Is that understood!?"

Ran recovers and gets up staggering a little, and then she looks at Yukari and says "understood. Chen, let's go."

"But what about lady Yukari?" asks Chen sounding terribly worried.

Yukari smiles and rubs Chen's head, and then says "just take care of each other and I'll go get you when it's spring, alright?"

She smiles at her shikigami and adds "I'll send your things ahead of you with a note for Reimu. Go, NOW! Remember don't let your shadows touch the ground, not once!"

Ran grabs Chen and lifts off, then hears her master's thoughts as she says "_be careful; both of you!_"

* * *

Characters and scenario belong to ZUN -Team Shanghai Alice-

Ail and Kyo were created by Willie G.R.

JUN 29 2009

Written by

Willie G.R.

**-Edited on JUN 18 2013 by Willie G.R.-**


	11. Chapter 8

It has been two days since Shikieiki's visit to the shrine, and when Ail walks out of the shrine that morning he realizes it had snowed quite a lot during the night; but regardless of that he is ready to begin his next lesson in spell cards, but that's when he notices three frozen girls on the ground right where Reimu had left them the afternoon before; Sanae, Keine and Rumia.

"Reimu" calls Ail. "Hey Reimu, you better come out here" he insists while looking both worried and somewhat disappointed.

When Reimu and Kyo come out of the warm living room they see the three frozen girls. The shrine maiden laughs, and then says "they'll have to wait until Marisa comes by. I don't think my spells are hot enough to thaw them out."

Kyo looks at her indifferently and says "then how about just doing the usual and just blast them out."

Ail facepalms hard, and before anything else Reimu is already shooting danmaku at the frozen guests and blasting the ice away.

Inside the shrine the three shivering girls drink the warm tea offered by Reimu and Ail while Kyo and Mima are outside on the front of the shrine training with their danmaku and abilities.

Shivering, Sanae says "th-th-thanks A-Ail" as he hands her a warm towel.

Rumia stares at them as they eye each other, and then says "i-i-i-is that-t-t s-so?"

Keine finishes her tea then says "that was one nasty trick, Reimu. You too Ail!"

Ail forces a smile to hide his shame, but ends up looking at the ground, and then Reimu says "well, he either joined me or _you_. He's a smart boy and chose correctly in my opinion."

Keine looks a bit annoyed, but she knows further complaining will get her neck-deep in trouble.

Sanae then gets up and says "I feel much better now so I best be off home. I'll see you next time."

Just as she is about to fly away, Reimu grabs her shoulder then looks at Ail and says "Ail, why don't you accompany her home?"

He looks puzzled at Reimu at first, but then he sees hidden purpose in the girl's eyes and nods then "yeah, you're right. Come on, Miss Sanae. Oh, let's fly above the trees, ok?"

Sanae looks a bit confused and is blushing a bit, but she nods and casually says "sure."

Reimu gets closer to Ail and says "if anything happens, send the signal."

Ail nods and then takes off to the air, accompanied promptly by Sanae.

After they are gone Reimu calls Keine and Rumia inside and says "you two listen up, you need to go back to the village with Rumia. Rumia, you need to keep the area around you as dark as a shadow."

Keine looks confused and asks "Reimu, what's going on?"

The shrine maiden looks seriously at Keine and says "I am not exactly sure. Just keep an eye on any strange shadows, and if you're going to fly, do so above the trees. For now, that is all I can tell you. When and IF I know more, I'll let you know."

When Keine looks at Rumia she sees her smile vanish as it's replaced by worry and purpose.

* * *

Halfway to the Youkai Mountain Ail realizes they have a long path with no trees to fly over and gets a bit worried.

Sanae suddenly asks "hey Ail; why are you accompanying me? I can get home on my own."

The boy smiles and says "I just want to make sure you're safe; it's all."

Sanae smiles back, and after he looks back down she blushes a bit. Suddenly he notices a shadow wriggling rapidly toward their own shadows.

Ail grabs Sanae by her waist and she shrieks, her face turns completely red, and then asks "what are you doing!? L-let go!"

Ail shouts "Sanae, cover your eyes!"

Suddenly Ail speeds up, matching Aya's quick speeds. The impact of the speed forces Sanae to place her face on Ail's chest.

The boy moves fast enough to lose the shadow so he relaxes and slows down, though he is still holding Sanae who recovers and bangs him on the arm while shouting "what's the big idea!? Let me go right now!"

Ail lets her go after he panics, and then says "sorry, sorry... look I can explain, but we have to get to the Moriya Shrine as fast as we can. Let's go!"

When they start moving again Sanae yelps and shouts "Ail, I can't move!"

Ail looks down and sees the snake-like shadow wrapped around Sanae's shadow by the leg so he takes a charm out of his pocket and from there a violet beam shoots to the sky that writes the word "HELP" on the clouds while Ail desperately tries to pull Sanae free.

She starts screaming "OW! What's happening!? My leg feels... like it's breaking. HELP ME!"

"Sanae!" shouts Ail. He tires harder to pull her free but he can't and shouts "Sanae! Sanae!"

He tries shooting danmaku directly at the shadows, however nothing happens.

Ail despairs as Sanae starts to scream louder, and while still holding on to her the boy closes his eye and in his mind he hears himself shouting "_somebody help!_"

A second later, another voice; a woman's voice, replies "_there is no time. Help can't come in time. Use your powers, Ail. Use them to your heart's content._"

Suddenly a spell card appears on Ail's hand and he instinctively lifts it above his head and declares "Earth Sign, Forestall Heartbeat!"

Countless green and white crystals come from Ail in the pattern of a heart that beats at a steady rhythm, and then the bullets fall slowly while accompanied by randomly expelled blue danmaku balls that fall faster.

They explode in mid-air and make the snake-like shadow let go of Sanae; who gasps with relief; after it is hit with the shadow of the bullets.

Ail, still holding on to her, wraps her arm around his neck and flies toward the Moriya shrine as hastily as possible.

From inside the shrine Kanako spots Ail and Sanae and causally says "hey, Suwako, you were right. She's with... Ail-Sanae?"

Suwako comes from her room asking "what did you say?"

Kanako jumps to her feet and shouts "SANAE!?"

Suwako panics and asks "what; what's going on!?"

The blonde girl gasps when Ail lands with the unconscious Sanae, and without warning a large wooden pillar with charms tied around it flies straight at Ail's face.

The boy dodges out of the way, looks angrily forward, then blocks Kanako from reaching Sanae with a strange-looking blue barrier.

"What did you do to my Sanae!?" yells Kanako at the top of her lungs.

Suwako rushes from inside the shrine and kneels next to her wind priestess and calls out to her.

Kanako looks like she's aiming for blood, but then Ail shouts back "we were attacked!"

The angry goddess drops her guard and calms down, and then, with a blank expression she says "I'm... I'm sorry. I thought..."

Ail signals Kanako to get closer, and then says "it's her left leg. It may be broken."

Both Kanako and Suwako look at Sanae's leg, then let out a loud sigh of relief before saying at the same time "**it's not broken.**"

* * *

After everyone calms down they carry Sanae to her room where she wakes up. While in her room Suwako grabs Ail by his neck, looks furiously into his eyes, and then quietly asks "what happened?"

Ail looks back at her equally angry and says "remember that evil energy from the other day? Well before we could stop it something escaped from its very source, and it's now running around as a snake-like shadow. At first Reimu though we could catch it or something, but..."

Suwako lets go of Ail then backs away, and then heads to Sanae after the satisfying, yet disturbing answer.

Ail is about to leave the room, but before he does he asks "is Miss Sanae going to be alright?"

Sanae says "oh, I'm alright, really;" but then Kanako says "it's a bad bruise. She'll be limping for some time."

Suwako adds "whatever did this to her is going to pay!"

Ail thinks to himself "_I'll make sure of that!_" He then turns around and says "for the moment the only information I have about that thing is that it's evil and it's trying to get out to the outside world. I can safely assume it's going to do anything it can to accomplish that goal; even kill."

Suwako and Kanako look at each other, then back at Ail, and then Kanako says "head directly to the Hakurei shrine, do NOT hunt it down."

The boy looks back with a smile, but his eyes reveal fury. He then closes the door and heads outside.

Kanako knows of his true intentions so she quickly bends down close to Suwako's ear and says "Suwako, go to the tengu, look for that reporter and tell her to get Reimu. He's going after that thing; whatever it is."

Without saying a word, Suwako nods and heads out.

* * *

Back at the Hakurei shrine Reimu lies on her back on the porch of the shrine, hanging her right foot on her left knee while swaying it around.

Kyo and Mima are still training when Marisa arrives. The shrine maiden gets up thinking it's Ail, but when she sees it's Marisa she sounds very disappointed when saying "oh, it's just you."

The witch backs away and says "whoa, so cold. Is that how you greet your guests?"

Reimu growls and says "he's late! Oh well, it's not _my_ training."

Marisa looks a bit confused at first, and then says "oh, you mean Ail? He was flying above the Forest of Magic a while ago."

The shrine maiden looks at her friend, then says "no sense of responsibility, that kid. He's neglecting his training."

The witch turns her face away and speaks as quietly as she can. "Reminds me of someone I know."

Reimu flares at Marisa and aggressively asks "what was that!?"

Just then, Aya flies over to the shrine with her wings bare as she rushes in at full speed. She crashes but gets up quickly and talks so fast that Reimu can't follow her at all.

"Reimu,Reimu it'shorribleSanae'shurttheMoriyagodismadand-!"

As casual as ever, Reimu pulls a glass of water from her pockets; Marisa looks shocked and amazed while pointing asking "how the hell did you do that?"

Ignoring her friend Reimu splashes the water on Aya's face to shut her up and help her calm down, then the shrine maiden calmly asks "now, what was that you were saying?"

The tengu takes a deep breath and says "that was _COLD_!"

The shrine maiden is getting angry so Aya takes a few steps back and says "oh yeah. The Moriya goddess came to me and told me that Sanae was badly injured by some shadow, and that Ail and Kanako almost killed each other, and now Ail is hunting that thing down!"

Reimu gasps and looks up at the sky, and there she sees the "help" signal slowly disappearing from the sky.

Desperate, Reimu asks her friend "Marisa, when exactly did you see Ail?"

The witch, looking a bit scared says "about fifteen, maybe twenty minutes ago."

The shrine maiden turns to Aya and hurriedly says "you; fly above the trees and head home. Tell the tengu and the kappa to be careful... in fact, use your paper for something good and warn EVERYONE about that shadow. I'll give you more details later!"

Aya salutes Reimu then flies away so fast she looks like a beam of light.

Sounding even more desperate Reimu shouts "KYO~! You and Marisa come with me. We HAVE to stop Ail!"

Kyo jokingly says "heh, what's the matter? You sound-"

"No time to explain, just go," barks Reimu before he could continue, then flies she ahead.

Marisa calls Kyo to sit on her broom and then they both follow after Reimu while Mima looks at them as they leave, and then says "ooh, the shrine's all mine now!"

When she enters the shrine she looks around, and then spots Reimu's clothes. Her eyes glint as she stares at the red and white shrine maiden attire.

* * *

Ail is close to the village where he shouts like a loon "come on out already! Stop sneaking around and come and _FIGHT ME_!"

Keine, from the village's entrance, worriedly calls "stop this! Come in here, it's dangerous out there. Didn't Reimu tell you!?"

The boy looks at Keine; who gasps when she sees the fury in his eyes; then he says to her "I know it's dangerous. I'll make SURE to make it dangerous for that thing! Stay back or you might get caught in the battle!"

"_This can't be Ail, can it?_" thinks Keine as she wonders whether or not to go and force him back into the village, but just then a shadow in the shape of a large snake appears right in front of the boy.

Keine gasps and begs Ail to get into the village, but he stands firm in place.

He is smiling; however his smile seems twisted and bloodthirsty as he says "at last, I found you!"

He takes an offensive stance as he readies himself for battle, while the shadow stands on the tip of its tail and tries to take a human-like shape; however it can't maintain it for too long and turns back to a snake-like figure, then launches itself directly at Ail as fast as it can.

A large blue square suddenly appears on the floor and gets in between Ail and the shadow, shocking said creature and forcing it to slither away.

The boy is about to chase after it, but then Reimu shouts "what the HELL are you trying to do, you idiot!?"

Ail tries to go after the shadow, but the shrine maiden tosses various charms right in front of him.

He glares up at Reimu and says "either help me, or get _out_ of my way. I am going to _DESTROY_ that thing!"

The girl descends slowly and gets right in front of the agitated boy, holding more charms on her left hand, and her gohei on her right.

They both stare at each other, then Kyo and Marisa arrive, however the witch doesn't land, and just hovers above them.

"What are you doing? Land already" demands Kyo

Marisa gives him a serious glance and says "you don't want to be doing that now. Those two are going to have a duel, ze."

Kyo despairs and says "no way! We gotta stop them, now!"

Marisa lowers her head and says "it's too late. It already started."

Kyo looks at Reimu and sees her determination, then looks at Ail and sees his anger.

"Whoa, what happened to Ail? He's furious," exclaims Kyo, to which Marisa simply replies "just watch now."

Ail shouts at Reimu "get out of the way! I'm going to stop that thing!"

Reimu shouts back "you idiot; that thing is too powerful for you! You're only going to get hurt, or worst, killed!"

Ail doesn't reply and just looks back at the shrine maiden, and then the girl says "you are _way_ over your head, if you think you can beat me!"

* * *

Ail starts shooting his danmaku at Reimu, who simply blocks them with her charms and shoots back with focused shots that home in on the boy, but he shoots his own focused shots and blasts the shrine maiden's homing charms in mid-air.

Reimu charges up another barrage of homing charms while Ail shoots his focused shots again, but this time they only slow Reimu's attacks.

He dodges them just as they are about to touch him, but then Reimu lunges to him and kicks him hard to the air, then shoots more of her charms at him, however the boy spins in mid-air and shoots countless bullets, breaking her charms before sending more her way.

She back flips to avoid Ails shots, then pulls out a spell card and declares "I'm not holding back anymore! Divine Spirit, Fantasy Seal!"

About ten colorful balls of light spread out and home in on Ail. He know this spell; and he also know there's no chance of escape, so instead he quickly summons a blue barrier that protects him from Reimu's attacks.

The barrier breaks just as the last ball of light impacts it and saves him from direct contact. Reimu gasps and says "how did you-?"

She readies herself for another attack but before she can continue Anilan pulls out his own spell card from a pocket, and then sounding incredibly surprised she asks "how the _hell_ did you get a spell card?"

Ail smiles and declares "Earth Sign, Forestall Heartbeat!"

Again the bullets beat in the rhythm of a heartbeat, and the many green and white crystals surround Ail, shaping a heart before flying slowly toward Reimu, and then they are followed by large blue round bullets that home in on said girl.

The shrine maiden grits her teeth and gets out of the way of the bullets, doing her best to avoid the blue danmaku balls that keep following her.

Ail takes this chance to chase after the shadow, but four charms appear right in front of him and then a blue battier materializes between them.

He almost crashes against it but stops in time, missing the crash by a mere cat's hair.

He turns around and sees the Reimu has escaped his spell card and watches as she pulls out another spell card and declares "Dreamland, Duplex Great Barrier!"

Two square barriers form around her, though they aren't for defense. Ail notices this and starts shooting her, however before his shots can reach her she shoots a barrage of red charms, followed closely by a barrage of white charms again, and again.

Ail notices they disappear for a moment then appear inside the other barrier, and then disappear again before going straight at him from the last barrier.

He has so little room to escape he despairs and thinks "_dammit! I need something... something to defend myself against her bullets._"

Very suddenly another spell card appears around his chest, right where his heart is. He looks at it, grabs it, and quickly declares "Brightness, Blinding Heart!"

Ail's chest starts to shine white, and then large white rings expand in random positions around him.

Some are horizontal, others vertical, and others set themselves sideways, creating an almost perfect defense, protecting Ail from Reimu's charms.

It doesn't stop there as the rings keep expanding, pushing Reimu back and to the air. The rings almost get Marisa and Kyo too, but the witch is quick enough to get out of range.

Reimu rubs her head as Ail's spell finishes, and then she shouts at Kyo "HEY, I thought you said Ail was funny when he got angry... **_I'm not laughing!_**"

Kyo shouts back "it was funny when he was playing video games!"

Reimu gets up and pulls out another spell card and says "alright Ail, if you're not listening to reason, then I'll have to beat some sense into you!"

Ail just stares back at Reimu as she lifts her arm with the spell card on it and loudly declares "FANTASY~ HEAVEN~!"

Seven white yin-yang orbs surround Reimu, then without giving Ail the chance she rushes to him and beats him up; kicking him hard to the air where she does a variety of combos on him.

All 7 yin-yang balls begin to shine after said beating, and then suddenly start spinning around Reimu violently and shooting innumerable amounts of charms at such speeds, Ail can't even summon his barrier in time.

So many of those charms keep hitting him at the same time that after a bit of punishment the boy explodes, and ends up spinning in the air, screaming as he spins on and on. He is unable to recover at all.

* * *

After the spell cancels Reimu sighs and says "let's go."

Kyo can't hide he's feeling surprised when exclaiming "but shouldn't we go looking for him?"

The shrine maiden rests her gohei on her right shoulder and says "I know where he fell. Don't worry," and then she smiles as she looks at Kyo and Marisa, who are now close to the ground.

Back at the shrine they hear Mima laughing hard and saying "you really challenged Reimu? HAHAHAHAHA! Talk about living dangerously. Ahh, but don't worry, I know just how that feels."

Kyo looks at Reimu in disbelief and says "so you sent him flying back the hard way huh?"

With a very satisfied look in her face the girl nods and replies "that's what happens when you mess with me."

Kyo's face turns ghostly pale and he shivers a bit when Reimu says those words so casually.

At the hot springs to the right of the shrine Mima floats just above the water while wearing Reimu's shrine clothes; and just above her, hanging from a tree branch, is the singed and really messed up Ail.

He lifts his sights, smiles and weakly waves at them while weakly saying "hey..."

Reimu casually floats to Ail and asks "so, you calm down yet?"

The boy lets out a quick "yeah" then the shrine maiden tries to free him from the branch, but he is too heavy for her, so she lets him go.

He gets out of the hot springs saying "wow that was refreshing" then laughs.

Mima smiles at Reimu and asks "so what happened?"

The girl stares at the evil spirit for a bit then says "he just needed a good beating is all. And what are you doing wearing those?"

The ghostly woman poses in such an alluring manner that Kyo gets a nosebleed, and then she says "don't these look good on me?"

Kyo gives her a thumbs up, and Ail just says "yeah, but I think blue suits you better."

Reimu facepalms hard, groans, and says "at least she's wearing a sarashi over those."

Mima merely smiles and giggles.

Back inside the shrine Ail explains everything that happened, how that shadow got Sanae, how his despair to help her unleashed his first spell card, and Kanako's and Suwako's reaction.

"And then all I wanted to do was hunt that thing down and turn it to dust," he finishes saying.

Reimu bangs her hands on the table and shouts "that was the **STUPIDEST** thing you could have ever done! That thing's powers are beyond your own! Even my trap merely scared it away!"

She winds down after a sigh then says "I don't think even I can stop it that easily."

Ail lowers his head then says "I did notice that when the shadow of MY danmaku hit its own shadow, it made it let go of Sanae, so I thought that... maybe if I aimed at its shadow, I could destroy it."

Reimu sighs and says "I don't blame you for getting angry, but risking your life for revenge? I thought you were smarter than that!"

Ail knocks his head with his right fist softly, then smiles as he says "I can be hard-headed sometimes."

The shrine maiden rolls her eyes and replies quite calmly "no joke."

She then stands up and loudly says "listen you; ALL of you! Until we know what we are dealing with none of us is to hunt that thing or go out alone, got it!?"

Reimu sits down looking quite mad and grumbles "whatever it is, it's not using spell cards, and it's aiming for no less than killing. That pisses me off."

Kyo, Mima and Marisa look at each other with worry however Ail and Reimu look at each other rather seriously, then Reimu nods, and then Ail heads outside and sits by the shrine's porch.

* * *

Four days later the snow is covering most of the shrine, the sun can barely shine through the thick clouds, and the days are colder and colder; although this doesn't seem to bother Ail at all.

Somehow, Reimu convinced Mima of getting off the shrine clothing, but the woman didn't care much. She was just having fun.

Marisa tries to stay in her house, but she keeps getting bored too easily and constantly visits the shrine, even knowing of the dangers of traveling alone; although there have been no reports on any more attacks so far.

"Come on Reimu. I need to keep training. I almost have that barrier mastered," whines Ail from outside at the back of the shrine.

From inside Reimu shouts back "yeah, you're doing great. Keep it up."

The boy sighs loudly then starts to summon his barrier, and keeps it active for as long as he can.

Reimu sits on the porch to watch him train and almost falls asleep, but she notices Ail stops training and gets curious.

Ail keeps looking to his left and turns all his attention to the darkened skies, then starts to fly in that direction. The shrine maiden shouts "what is it?"

The boy comes back down with Ran on his arms, whom is holding a frightened Chen that keeps calling for her master.

Inside the shrine is now a big bag with a note that reads "please take care of my shikigami" attached to it, and is full of clothes. It appears from within one of Yukari's gaps.

"Please, save Ran-sama!" shouts Chen.

Ran is unconscious, her face is turning blue and Reimu rushes to see if she can help, and then Mima comes from the shrine's roof as well.

"What happened to her, Chen?" asks Reimu, but the nekomata is too distraught to answer while still calling for Ran.

Ail, without saying a single word, flies away toward the Bamboo Forest with haste. Reimu tries to stop him, but he is going too fast to catch now.

The shrine maiden groans with frustration and then says "Mima, help me get her inside."

Reimu grabs Ran's shoulders while Mima grabs her legs, then they place her in a futon.

Ran starts to cough a little, and then Reimu asks her "Ran? Can you hear me? What happened to you?"

Sobbing, Chen says "she *hic* was being squeezed by this *sob* large black snake monster."

Reimu's eyes fill with fear, then the touches around Ran's torso and says "I-I think there's something broken in here!"

Chen starts to cry just as; from the doorway; Eirin's voice is heard saying "then let's fix her up right away." She and Anilan stand by the doorway while the Lunarian scans the shrine with her eyes.

After an hour or so, Ail finds himself pacing outside the shrine when Kyo arrives from town with Suika.

"Hey Ail, what's the matter, bud?" asked Kyo as soon as he sees his friend's worried face.

Ail sighs and says "It's Ran. She was badly injured. Eirin's inside treating her right now."

Suika asks in a very serious tone of voice "was it that thing again?"

The boy nods, then Suika rapidly takes a big gulp from her gourd, then says "dammit! It's breaking the law. It has to be stopped, now; before it kills!"

She punches the floor very hard, and then sits down equally hard. Kyo tries to cheer her up, but he can't find the words for it.

* * *

After pacing for some time the doors to the shrine's living quarters open up, and Ail rushes to see and asks "How is she!?"

Eirin lifts her hand and says "she's resting now. It was tricky. The only way I could treat her, was if there was a shadow of her on the wall."

Ail ponders for a second then says "so... that thing is damaging their shadows... is that it?"

Eirin frowns and says "somehow, it's breaking the laws of restrain, danmaku and spell cards. This is very dangerous."

Suika punches the ground again, even with Kyo still trying to cheer her up.

Inside the living room Chen is still sobbing and rubbing her face against Ran's while Reimu heads outside, grabs Ail's shoulder and says "we're taking Eirin home now. Come."

Eirin smiles, and then all three lift off and head toward the bamboo forest.

Just as they say their goodbyes to Eirin, Reimu says to Ail "come. We have to find Shikieiki. This is getting way out of hand."

They arrive close to a river, and then Reimu says "careful not to fall in. This is the Sanzu River. You fall in, then a fate worse than death will befall you." A bit shaken, Ail manages to nod.

They find Komachi hiding behind a rock, sleeping soundly. Ail stares at her massive nose bubble and says "wow... there must not be much to do here, huh?"

Reimu grins then shouts "oh my, what a LAZY shinigami; she's been sleeping here all day!"

Komachi wakes and springs up then grabs the shrine maiden by her shoulders, shakes her and yells "what do you think you are doing!?"

From behind them, Shiki uses her rod to bang Komachi on the head, and then says "you know Komachi, this behavior cannot continue. What if I were to fire you and get someone else to do your job? Why, maybe a fairy could do your job better than you do, or maybe I could add an automated motor to the boat, let IT carry the spirits instead. This behavior of yours is..."

She continues on, scolding and lecturing the shinigami while Ail gets close to Reimu and whispers "what have you done to her... poor girl."

The shrine maiden whispers back "don't worry about that."

Reimu gets close to Shiki then says "Miss Yama, what's going on with the other Yamas? Are they going to do something about that thing?"

Eiki looks at Ail and Reimu then stutters a little, but then she clears her throat and says "Reimu... I'm sorry, but all I have is bad news for you. The other Yamas and I had decided to come and seal this soul and take it back with us, however we got word from a higher source that this soul is to stay here. It is needed here for a powerful reason, so I am sorry to say, but..."

Ail steps up and says "how can that be the decision? That's not even fair. That thing is out there and it's hurting loved ones. It's just a matter of time before it kills someone. Come on, ignore those stupid orders and-!"

Shikieiki points her rod at Ail and looks dangerously mad while saying "you will keep your mouth shut, or I'll make sure you repent! Those orders are imperative. We Yama cannot disobey them."

Ail sighs and drops his hand while Eiki lowers her gold rod and says "it seems you have been training hard. Look, don't worry; with souls like Reimu's and your own here, that shadow will be dealt with. Trust me when I say, it won't kill a single soul."

The yama turns around and lets out a smile, which she covers with her rod, and says "go back home now. Don't worry; just keep training, take care of each other, and it'll all become clear soon."

Ail sighs then sits down on the ground. Reimu pats him on the shoulder out of pity, and then signals him to head back.

Just as they leave Komachi looks at them both with worry, then turns around and notices the countless spirits waiting to be ferried across and changes worry for dread.

Shikieiki shakes her head softly then says to her "you better quicken your pace. I'll be waiting for _each_ and every one of these souls to reach me before nightfall."

Komachi whines and wants to complain, but starts calling one spirit at a time to her boat.

* * *

The next day Ran is up early and feeling like a new shikigami. "Ahhh~ I feel like a new shikigami."

Reimu yawns while stretching, and then sounding slightly annoying she says "hey, didn't they say that just now in the narration?"

Ran flaps her hand in the air saying "hey, that's a dangerous comment."

"Ran-sama, you're all better" shouts Chen as she jumps on Ran and gives her a hug.

The vixen pats her head and says "yes, Chen, I am much better now."

Mima and the others wake up and look at Ran while waiting for explanations, and so the nine-tailed fox sits down; with Chen falling quickly asleep on her lap; then tells her tale.

"This... snake's shadow... it came from nowhere, and so quickly too. I wrapped itself around my own shadow and I couldn't breathe. I thought I was going to be split in half from the way it was squeezing me, but Lady Yukari came to rescue me just in time. She shot her danmaku at the direction of the sun and hit the shadow with the shadow of her own danmaku, and thus freeing me."

Reimu and Ail both say "**so THAT'S how we hurt it then.**"

Ran continues "that's not all. It spoke to me in my mind. It told me it wanted to get out of the barrier. That it knew killing a shrine maiden or one powerful youkai would be enough to get out. Reimu, it's hunting for you."

Looking quite serious the shrine maiden says "well, it can look for me all it wants, when we meet I'll be ready and I'll make it answer for all it's done."

Ran lowers her head then says "there's also, err..."

She takes the three letters out of her pockets and hands them to Reimu, then backs away with Chen on her lap.

Reimu stares at them for a moment, then furiously asks "where did you get these?"

Ran, hesitantly answers "umm... L-Lady Yukari had them."

"H-HEY, that one's for me!" shouts Kyo; and then Reimu quickly gives him the letter.

Kyo opens the letter and reads it, then after he's done he says "argh, they used my full name. I TOLD them to call me Kyo!"

Reimu and Ail look curiously at the muscled boy, and then he says "alright, fine, it says: _'Dear Kaizo Yumeda; These two girls came here one day and told us you were alive in some place called Gensokyo and told us they could deliver this letter. We hope you are alright. Ail's parents are dead worried for him, so I hope you are taking good care of him as well. We love you and hope you come home soon. Love, Mom and Dad.'_"

Ail looks a little embarrassed, and then Reimu says "you have one too;" and then hands him the letter which he immediately opens and reads out loud.

"Let's see, it says: _'Son; we hope you are well and we hope you understand that we miss you bunches. These girls say you are doing just fine, but we can't help but worry. Hope we get a response from you soon. Take care of yourself and Kyo too. Together you can overcome any obstacle so you can come back home to us safe and sound. Loves, Mom.'_"

Ail chuckles lightly and then says "heh, if she saw me now, eh?"

He looks behind the letter and sees there's something written in gold; a small message saying "Just do it! No regrets!"

Ail doesn't mention that to anyone but wonders what the message means.

* * *

Reimu opens her letter and decides to read it out loud as well.

"Look, it's from those girls, Renko and Maribel. It says: _'Dear miss Hakurei Reimu, we hope that everything is well. We wanted to let you know that we contacted the families of those boys. At first the Yumeda family didn't believe us, but by some miracle they suddenly did believe us and had us deliver a message. Then there was the Inmodo family. The father and sister almost called the police on us, but the mother, she's an angel. She believed us from the start. She didn't want to worry Ail, so she said she wouldn't send any messages for the moment. But Miss Reimu, what about that new portal; for us to go in? Your friends, Maribel and Renko.'_"

Reimu looks at Ran then says "since when did Yukari have these?"

The blonde shakes her head and softly says "I'm not sure. She just asked me to deliver them to you."

Reimu thinks for a moment, then pulls a piece of paper, ink and a feather from under her right sleeve, and then writes them about the current dangers in Gensokyo, and that once this matter was settled she will do her best to get them into Gensokyo.

This time, after signing, she asks Kyo and Ail to sign as well, and then says "and with this they'll have proof that you are well."

Ail and Kyo both smile and then the spiky-haired boy gives Reimu the thumbs up.

* * *

Ran gets up, gently leaving Chen next to the kotatsu, and approaches Ail and says "and you Ail, I was instructed to train you to and teach you how to manipulate barriers; just like my master."

Ail looks at Ran suspiciously at first, but then he opens his eyes wide and smiles.

Ran smiles back then says "alright then, shall we begin?"

Ail gets a bit worried, but before he asks Ran tells him "don't worry, I heal fast. My injuries are completely gone, now come on and let's start your training."

For three straight hours they train. Ran is very tough on Ail; shooting her best shots at him from the second they begin, leaving Ail out of breath by the time they finish.

"Alright, that's it for today" says Ran with a very satisfied look on her face.

Ail drops to the ground on his back and breathes heavily, while Ran looks at him and says "you are pretty amazing; being able to last this long and all. But don't think it's gonna be this easy every day. Tomorrow we start getting serious."

Ail takes a very deep breath and says "I can't-I can't wait, heheh..."

Ran grins then says "well, you better rest up... and get out of the snow, or you'll catch a cold!"

She helps the boy get up then they all have a good lunch and rest up.

For five weeks they keep on training; Ran intensifying the training each day; and they even get Reimu to join in twice, however she simply beats them both, and then leaves to drink some tea afterward.

Ail has already mastered summoning powerful barriers at will and is slowly but steadily learning how to open gaps, cutting through distance barriers.

"Ail, you have to be careful with this particular power" says Ran as they both meditated inside the shrine.

"When opening a gap between two locations, you have to make sure you don't open them in dangerous places, like say a lava pit, or under the water. The results could be disastrous, so I want you to keep opening them in close locations, like the village, or the lake. Once you have mastered these close locations, then you can start opening gaps to farther locations, or on to different domains even."

Ail asks "like different dimensions and such?"

Ran then says "just concentrate on close locations for now."

* * *

The next day Ran says to Ail "for today, your training will be... to rest."

The boy looks at her funny as she continues "everyone needs a break once in a while. However, don't think of this as just rest, alright?"

Ail doesn't get it, but he nods, then Ran gets under the kotatsu and starts helping Chen with her math.

There have been no reports of any more attacks so everything is slowly going back to normal, although both Ail and Reimu can feel its presence; the shadow keeps getting stronger each day.

Since it's a rest day, Ail decides to go and visit the lake, and after landing at the Scarlet Mansion's island, he starts rubbing frozen shore to enjoy the soothing feeling, then Meiling comes by.

She is going to try and scare him as she tiptoes closer, however without even turning Ail says "oh, Meiling. Day off?"

Meiling has a vacant expression when she asks "how did you...?"

Ail says "I could feel your presence."

Meiling then smiles and says "Ooh~! Yeah, Sakuya said I could take a little break for today. Can I join you?"

Ail smiles then says "sure".

They talk and talk for about thirty minutes, talking about their trainings and their masters and friends, then Ail tells Meiling something rather peculiar from the outside world.

"And there was this game called Youhou, where you played as either a crazy blond shrine maiden, who was the main character, or her genius scholar friend that would fly using a small rocket, and they would battle all these crazy characters, all with amazing abilities. They lived in a place called Ginipokyo, where all sorts of beings lived together in harmony, supposedly."

Meiling looks on with anticipation, and then Ail says "and all that came from the mind of a genius drunken programmer. Funny he worked independently on those games too. Normally when something gets too good bigger companies will try to take it somehow."

Meiling, still looking impressed says "the outside world sounds so complicated. I think I like Gensokyo, just as it is."

Ail looks toward the frozen lake then says "you know, so do I. You could say... I love Gensokyo just as it is."

Just then they hear Cirno calling them "Hey! I'm going to freeze you!"

Short after, two icicles miss them as they land just in front of their feet, then they both fly to get closer to the ice fairy that is next to another woman.

She has lavender eyes and curly pink hair, and wears a blue and white dress with a golden brooch that resembled the alchemic symbol for silver, a white cape, and a scarf that is almost invisible.

* * *

The woman looks friendly so Ail decides to get a little closer, but Meiling holds him back and whispers "be careful of her."

Ail stays where he is and asks "hey Cirno, who's your friend?"

The boastful ice fairy says "this is my very best friend in the whole world, Letty Whiterock. She's the only one that plays with me when she's awake."

Ail bows his head a little and says "a pleasure to meet you Miss, I am Ail."

Letty remains where she is and just smiles, but doesn't respond him; Meiling then hears Sakuya calling her and says "Ail, Sakuya's calling me. Why don't you come with me? Flan would love to see you again."

Without turning his sights from Letty, the boy slowly backs away and says "sure, umm... Miss Whiterock, it was a pleasure."

Just as he turns around the woman tries to sucker-blast him with an ice danmaku shot.

Ail reflects it back then says "oy, Miss, that's not very nice!"

"Young man, I cannot let you leave this place; even if you _are_ Cirno's friend" finally says Letty.

Cirno tries to complain, but the woman gently pushes her back and whispers something to her, then the ice fairy pouts cutely and goes to sit on a tree branch.

"Meiling, you better go to Sakuya, before you get in trouble," says the boy.

Meiling nods and asks "are you going to be ok?"

Ail winks and smiles at her, and then says "I'll be at the mansion in no time."

The gate guard hesitantly leaves, and now it is just Ail and Letty flying above the frozen Lake while keeping their eyes locked on each other.

"Young man, I hope you came prepared to accept your destiny;" says Letty as she extends her arms and readies herself to shoot danmaku.

Ail simply looks at her calmly and says "nah, I'm not ready yet. I still want to see spring in Gensokyo!"

Letty smiles and says "what cocky attitude. I better do something about that, human."

Suddenly green crystals and medium sized blue balls danmaku bullets fly all around her. It looks like a snowstorm of danmaku, and yet Ail dodges and grazes the shots as if they were nothing, then he shoots a few focused shots at her, knocking her back a bit.

The woman glares at him and says "young human, you really are pushing it. I'm going to have to get serious."

Letty pulls out a spell card and declares "Cold Sign, Lingering Cold, Lunatic!"

She starts shooting aqua colored danmaku in straight lines; the first danmaku ball is larger than the ones behind. The smaller ones spread out and make the shots look like large birds, while around her Letty starts shooting mid-sized blue balls paired in trios that spread at random.

Ail has some trouble dodging but manages to beat her spell card without a scratch.

Letty backs away once more, then smiles and says "young man, you sure are annoying. Let's see how you handle this? Mystic Sign, Table Turning!"

Suddenly, ghostly lasers fly around Letty, unleashing a barrage of blue petal-shaped danmaku that scatter and flying everywhere at random.

Ail is overwhelmed. He immediately pulls out his own spell card and shouts "Brightness, Blinding Heart!"

White rings spread quickly from his heart and cut through Letty's own danmaku, reaching her almost immediately and blasting her out of the sky and down down to the frozen lake.

The ice breaks the moment her body hits the ice, and then Letty goes down fast.

* * *

Ail quickly rushes down and grabs Letty's hands, pulls her out of the icy waters, and flies back to the island where Cirno waits for them.

"Young... young man" begins the out of breath woman, "even though I am your enemy, you save me from the ice waters?"

Ail says "it's not my style to leave others in distress; particularly if they are Cirno's friends."

Letty smiles and says "well, the icy waters won't kill me, but I could still drown. Thank you. Cirno picked a good friend for sure."

Ail smiles back, and then Letty says "I'm sorry I attacked you like that, I just needed to get to know you a little better, that's all."

The gives her a thumbs-up, then pats Cirno on the head and says "I better go and visit the mansion. Take care you two"

At the Scarlet Devil Mansion Ail is greeted by Koakuma, who takes him to Patchouli's library, and when in there he sees Sakuya, Remilia and Patchouli looking over some plans.

"Ail," says Remilia "so glad you came. We need you to tell us what's with that shadow thing."

Just then Flandre comes from behind and jumps at Ail and shouts "big brother!"

She then hugs him tightly as she lands on him so hard and makes his bones crack, his eyes spin, and yet he pats Flandre on the head and says "how are you little Flan?" then faints.

After a miraculous full recovery he explains to them how the shadow attacks and how it can be repelled with the shadows of bullets. He also explains to them how that thing aims to kill, and can attack without the need of spell cards. "...And so, I suggest you station more fairies with Meiling... just in case."

Remilia nods, then Flandre adds "don't worry, big brother. I'll be with big sister Meiling the whole time! She will be safe always!"

Ail pats her on the head and says "also remember to keep the others inside safe as well, ok?"

Flandre smiles and nods, then runs back outside. Ail opens a gap to the village and says "take care, and if anything happens, let us know."

They all nod, and just before he leaves Patchouli says "let's have another little duel next time." The boy nods and enters the gap to the village.

* * *

At the village, everybody is in their houses when the boy arrives; there are just a few kids playing in the snow while Keine looks after them from her school.

Ail waves at the teacher and then she waves back at him, but before they can exchange greetings he hears a loud, bloody scream and says "Mystia!?"

He runs outside the village to the path to the shrine and finds Mystia half-way there; Keine follows closely behind him.

Mystia is twitching on the floor, her eyes open and empty. Ail shouts, hoping to get a reaction from her, but it's as if she can't even hear him, so he lifts her up, but then Keine shouts "wait, her wing!"

After Ail gently places her back on the ground and turns her sideways, he sees her wing has been impaled and broken at the joint.

"Keine" says Ail "go to the shrine and tell Reimu to meet me at Eirin's Clinic. I'll get you there safely."

He opens a gap for her but she hesitates, so Ail forces a smile and says "it goes straight to the shrine's entrance, I promise."

Keine nods and enters immediately, and appears at the back of the shrine, right next to the entrance and looking a bit surprised, and then she calls Reimu.

Ail opens another gap, gently picks the youkai girl up, and says "well Mystia, this one goes pretty far... to the Hourai clinic... I hope."

And so he enters, holding Mystia as gently as he can and immediately pops in front of the Hourai Clinic.

Kaguya spots him going through the gap then shouts "_YOU_! What do _you_-!?"

"Shut it, princess! Where's Eirin!?" shouts Ail looking almost angry.

Eirin comes out of the clinic then sighs and says "get her in here, quick."

Inside the Lunarian looks at the wound and says "it's another shadow wound... I'm am going need light to treat this."

Without wasting a second, Ail grabs a spell card and declares "Brightness, Blinding Heart" and around his heart a bright light shines, giving Eirin a perfect view of Mystia's shadow, however no rings come out.

Reimu comes in then sees Ail concentrating on keeping the rings inside of him and shining the light.

Eirin eyes Reimu, who reaches for the bandages and hands them to the woman, then holds two small wooden planks on Mystia's wing as Eirin wraps the bandages around them, then injects the wing and then says "it's alright Ail, you can stop now."

The boy expels his held breath as the light vanishes, then he gasps for more air while Reimu calmly asks "what happened?"

After catching his breath the boy says "I don't know. After I got to town Keine and I heard her scream and then found her unconscious on the snow."

Reimu and Ail get closer to Mystia, who with a blank stare looks at Ail and mouths the words "thank you", then closes her eyes.

Reimu then says "this was a shadow wound, I see... but she wasn't squeezed, was she?"

Ail says "it's probably taking other shapes now."

Eirin adds "and dealing considerable damage. Why is it doing this?"

Reimu shakes her head and says "I'm not sure anymore. All I know is that it wants out of here."

After Ail pays, Reimu says "it'll be safer if we walk, or we might hurt her again."

The boy grins and responds "no worries. I can open a gap to the shrine now."

He opens a blue colored gap with many eyes inside, and then Reimu peeks inside and says "wow... you're really getting good. Right in front of the entrance, too."

They wave at Eirin who shouts "take care, alright," then they enter the gap, appearing at the shrine's entrance, where Ran already has a futon ready for Mystia near the kotatsu.

Ail gently places her in the futon and under the kotatsu where the night sparrow sleeps soundly.

* * *

Ail Sits on the porch and seems is lost in thought. Shortly after Ran, Chen and Reimu join him.

The blonde fox looks at him worriedly and says "what's the matter? You should be happy. You saved Mystia, and expanded the reach of your gaps. You even learned to control the power of your spell card."

Reimu quickly adds "look, even if you had been there, there was probably nothing you could have done. Maybe it would be _you_ with the hole, eh?"

He looks at them and smiles, and then Chen says "are you thinking something else, mister Ail?"

Ail looks up at the clouded sky and spots a snowflake, follows it with his sight as it falls, and says "I wonder... what would have happened if instead of me and Kyo, those two girls had entered the gap that day?"

Ran and Reimu look at each other while Ail continues "what would have happened if Remilia never attacked me, if Flandre had never experienced her own power? What would have happen to Mystia and Sanae, if I weren't here?"

Reimu pats him on his right shoulder and says "who knows. It's better not to ask these questions. The answer could be quite dangerous, you know that right?"

The boy smiles and laughs, then Ran places her hand on Ail's left shoulder and says "besides, you were there, and you saved them both. That's what is important."

Chen then jumps on Ail's lap and says "Yukari once told me that even without that portal, that you would still come here, because there is no such thing as coin... coinci-dence. That there is a reason why you two came here instead."

Reimu, Ran and Ail open their eyes widely, then Ran says "that's my Chen; a very bright and wonderful young girl."

The cute nekomata smiles at Ran; who gets a nosebleed out of that before she grabs Chen and hugs her tightly.

Right after that Mima, Kyo and Suika arrive from the lake and the muscled boy says "you stop thinking those stupid things, and just live in the moment, alright? We are here and things were dealt with!"

Ail smiles, then says "you're right... you all right. I'll just be thankful I was here to make a difference!"

They all laugh, and then Ran realizes she doesn't have Chen anymore. Mima has grabbed the little cat girl and has started hugging her and calling her an adorable little cat girl.

Ran gets shocked and then gets up and chases after Mima, who will not let go of Chen, and shouts "give me back my Chen! Let her go. Chen! Cheeeeennn, I'll save you!"

The nekomata only giggles, making Mima stop to give her a hug again, and then start running away from the angry vixen again.

Kyo and Suika look at them casually then the muscled boy says "one month at it..." then Suika adds "...and still going."

* * *

To be continued...

Characters and scenario belong to ZUN -Team Shanghai Alice-

Ail and Kyo were created by Willie G.R.

The "Earth Sign - Forestall Heartbeat" and "Brightness - Blinding Heart" spell cards were made by Willie G.R. (any similarities are strictly coincidental, since I'm an average Touhou player yet, and haven't seen all the spell cards there are) Assistance with creating these spell cards: Snapshot2010

JUL 2 2009

Written by

Willie G.R.

**-Edited on JUN 27 2013 by Willie G.R.-**


	12. Chapter 9

After rescuing Mystia and taking her to Eirin to have her healed the day before, Ail and Reimu take care of her the whole day after, getting Ran to call off their training since the boy is too distracted and worried and keep opening gaps next to Mystia to check on her.

One snore from her, and both Reimu and Ail jump to check on her.

Ran sighs and asks "aren't you two taking this a little too far?"

Reimu turns to Ran and then says with a smile "oh my, did Mima take Chen with her again?"

The blonde looks around hurriedly and notices Chen's not around, and then she runs outside shouting "Chen, Che~~n. Ooh, if that ghost has her in her arms again I'm gonna..."

She then runs to the front of the shrine where her nekomata sits on the empty donation box while watching Kyo and Mima spar.

Ran runs to her and asks "Chen, there you are. Did she hurt you?"

Chen smiles and says "no, she just told me to watch. She said I give her good luck."

The vixen then watches them fighting and gets impressed. Mima shoots wave after wave of stars, fire balls, or petal-shaped danmaku, and Kyo will either cut them, or reflect them straight back at her.

Mima pulls out a spell card and Kyo exclaims "well that's more like it!"

The evil spirit smiles and declares "Darkness Sign, Lights-off Dance!"

Six red lasers are shot from around Mima which recoil wherever they hit as they move around unevenly, twisting in pairs, as if dancing, as well as four fireball danmaku that spread into smaller balls that scatter as they fly farther.

Kyo has some trouble dodging the lasers and the recoil, but he keeps on reflecting the fireballs as if they were nothing and for about 35 seconds they keep this up until the spell card times out, and then Mima says "alright, that's enough."

"Whew" says Kyo, "that was intense."

The woman giggles and says "you didn't do so bad yourself, hunk... oh?"

When they both look to Ran's direction they realizes she's completely singed while spreading her arms and closing her eyes.

After analyzing the scene thoroughly, Kyo says "I think you overdid it again."

Mima giggles again and says "whoopsies."

Ran growls and shouts "whoopsies!? What's the big idea!? You could have hit Chen!"

The spirit looks at them casually and says "but I didn't," then smiles.

The nine-tailed vixen growls again then chases after Mima while saying "when I get my hands on you, I'll TEACH you proper child care!"

Inside the shrine Ail is helping Mystia sit up while Reimu gives her water.

They both look at each other after listening to the argument then Reimu says "no self-control," then Ail nods quietly.

* * *

The next morning, Ail wakes up and hears Mystia singing a tune she called "Night Bird", however she loudly shouts "chin-chin" during the pauses.

The boy opened his eyes widely before running outside to look at the roof, where Mystia is, then ask "oi, what are you singing there?"

When the night sparrow spots him she smiles and lunges directly at him, clinging on to his neck and rubbing her face on his while saying "I'm SINGING~, as thanks to you and Reimu for taking care of me!"

From inside, Reimu spots them and says "heyyy; you two get a room!"

Ail sweats a little, but Mystia immediately lets go of him and flies to her to hug her as tightly as well.

The boy then asks "are you sure you should be flying like that already?"

The excited bird girl lets go of Reimu, smiles and nods while saying "of course. I even went and checked on my grilled lamprey stand."

Reimu sits her next to the table and offers her some cookies then ask "Mystia, do you remember who did that to you?"

Mystia bites hard on her cookie and shivers a bit, gulps loudly, and then says "it was... it was a woman with very dark hair. She didn't even talk to me. She just turned her hands into a huge spike so I tried to fly away, but before I knew it she broke my wing, so I couldn't fly; then she asked me where the Hakurei Shrine was but I didn't answer, so she turned her hand into something big. After that I don't remember much."

Ail then asks "but don't you remember what her face looked like?"

Mystia thinks for a bit then says "I'm sorry, I was too scared; I can't remember anything else."

Reimu sighs then says "that's alright. Thanks for the information though. Now at least we know one thing. Our fears have become reality. It has taken human form."

Ail looks back at Reimu and says "we're gonna have to keep some extra eyes open out there."

Reimu nods and says "after your training today I want you to go and tell Yuka to keep here eyes open. Also, inform this to Remilia too. I'll let Eirin and Mokou know as well."

"And who should I tell?" says Marisa from behind, surprising all three and making Mystia nervously and wildly flap her wings and slap them on Ail's and Reimu's faces.

After the damage is done, the witch looks at them with wonder and says "2ow... you guys need to relax more, ze."

All three stare daggers at Marisa while she just laughs.

* * *

Right after his training with Ran, Ail heads straight to the Garden of the Sun, where, to his amazement, there are some flowers blooming in the snow.

He lands near the flowers and just stands there while staring at them, wondering how they are alive in this cold.

From behind him a shadow approaches, then he points his finger right behind him and turns around and sees a small girl with a doll dressed just as her, flying around her.

She has silver eyes and short blonde hair, wears a dark-red shirt and black skirt, and has a red ribbon on her hair. Her little doll's attire has her shirt black and skirt dark-red.

The girl stares at him, then without warning she blows a purple cloud straight at him. Ail instinctively flies away then shoots her with his focused blasts one after another, blasting her hard and knocking her out.

After some time she wakes up, and then Ail says "you sure have guts attacking someone you just met, and without saying even a single 'hello'."

The little girl moans as she gets up then says "I am Medicine Melancholy and you're a human that should have died. Ugh... what happened?"

Ail kneels in order to meet her eyes then says "Miss Medicine, I am Ail, and if you attack me like that again I am not holding back."

Medicine chuckles and says "fine. I'll try to get rid of you later then."

Somehow the boy didn't feel any safer with that statement, so he keeps his guard up while near her. "So what are you doing here, miss Medicine?"

Medicine frowns then says "that's none of your business, but if you MUST know I want to talk to Yuka."

Ail forces a smile and says "what a coincidence, so do I!"

Medicine glares at Ail, then says "then I'm leaving. I rather be dismantled before staying with you for another second. Bye!"

With that she walks away, vanishing from sight as she walks toward the thick winter mist. Somehow Ail feels a bit sickened by her attitude, but he just sighs then goes looking for Yuka.

While walking through the fields a snowstorm strikes, cutting his visibility so Ail decides to sit by a small field of flowers while the snowstorm settles.

To his surprise, right there, in the middle of that flower field is the very same blue flower he had revived for Yuka the first time they met.

The snowstorm settles shortly after, so Ail decides to hover closer to get a better look at the flower. "How? How are you alive and blooming like this, even in this cold?"

"Amazing, isn't it?" says Yuka from behind. She smiles as she waves at the boy then he floats to her.

At Yuka's house the boy explains his visit. "You know of that shadow that's running around trying to kill others, right?"

Yuka sits on the table with her elbows on the table and resting her head on her hands, when she says "yes... it's been here. She's real trouble, you know?"

Ail looks at Yuka then says "yes, she is, that is why I am here. She's taking human form, and is using lethal attacks. Reimu and I wanted to ask you to keep an eye out and tell us if anything happens."

Yuka silently stares at Ail for a minute, and then she nods and says "you know, those flowers you revived for some reason refuse to die. Even in this cold."

Ail chuckles and says "is that so?" then he covers his head and looks around.

Yuka looks at him curiously and asks "what are you doing?"

Ail chuckles nervously and says "uhh, I thought... it's nothing. Err... so can I count on you then?"

Yuka grins and says "fine. But this won't be for free. I'll be asking for a favor later, alright?" She smiles at him, seeming almost angelic, then Ail nervously nods and chuckles again.

He goes out the door and as soon as he closes it Rumia jumps on him and munches him hard while shouting "STOP STEALING MY LINES!"

Ail screams in pain while managing to say "alright, alright, I'm sorry, OUCH!"

* * *

A blue colored gap opens in front of the Scarlet Devil Mansion's gate and out comes Ail, full of bite marks and block stains.

The mist around the mansion is really thick so the boy is barely able to see past his nose, but he quickly realizes that Meiling isn't at the gate, and that the gate is wide open.

He promptly enters the mansion then calls out "Meiling, Sakuya! Hello? Is anybody there!?"

The mansion remains silent, not even the fairy maids come. Ail's heart starts beating faster as fear takes over.

He becomes desperate and he keeps calling while running to the basement. "Meiling! Sakuya! Flan! Remilia! Anyone?"

As he gets closer to the library he starts hearing voices. He smiles and opens the doors, however what he finds in the library shocks and surprises him to no ends.

A light surrounds him then sucks him into the library and all he can sream is "WHAT THE HELL!? WAA~~H!"

At Eientei Reimu has just finished talking with Eirin and Kaguya, and then finds Keine and Mokou being led by Tewi back to the building.

"So why did you call for us so suddenly?" asks Mokou, sounding quite annoyed.

Reimu stares coldly while saying "Keine, you remember that shadow, right?"

The teacher nods while the bamboo immortal complains after being ignored; although Reimu glares at her and she shuts up immediately.

The shrine maiden continues "well it's taken human form. It's a she, and SHE was the one that harmed the night sparrow, and from what Mystia said she can also shape-shift at will. I already talked with Eirin and Kaguya and they agreed to help keep an eye out. Can I count on you two?"

Keine node and says "well of course, right Mokou?" The girl pouts then says "fine..."

The shrine maiden then says "good. If you see anything, don't get in its way unless you _have _to, also, Mokou, since you are immortal I'll ask you same as Kaguya; to patrol the village from time to time."

Mokou doesn't seem to like the idea, but she noticed Reimu's eyes and realized she was genuinely worried.

Just then they hear Kaguya and Eirin calling Reimu from the mansion, and right after bursting out of the door they both shout "**Udonge's missing!**"

Reimu calmly says "well we better go look for her. Any idea where she might be?"

Eirin points to the left side of the gates where they see a black spot on the floor next to Reisen's medicine backpack.

Reimu gets closer to investigate then gasps and says "it can take others inside the shadows!"

* * *

Back at the Scarlet Mansion's Library the bookshelves and books float everywhere, the floors and walls have been replaced by white light as far as the eye can see, and Ail floats around, wondering what's going on, when he suddenly feels as though he has just been run over by a turbo-powered steamroller.

"BIG BROTHER~!"

Flandre has just hugged him so hard and tight he almost lost his lunch, with the addition of some bones.

He trembles a bit but eventually recovers from the impact, and then pats Flandre on the head and says "hey Flan... ow. What's going on here?"

Flandre lets him go, then looks at the boy seriously, and then says "it's terrible. Miss Patchouli and Miss Koakuma were doing another experiment and _this_ happened."

Flandre guides Ail to where the rest are, and there they all are, floating all around Patchouli, who is crying.

"Ah, Ail, so glad you could join us" says Remilia, sounding casually. "As you can see we're in a bit of a fix. Think you can get us out?"

Ail nods and opens a gap to the Mansion's entrance. Remilia and Flandre both enter quickly, followed by Meiling and Sakuya, who pull Patchouli in with them while trying to console her at the same time, then quite a few fairy maids follow afterward, and then Ail realizes Koakuma is missing.

After he enters the gap to join the others at the entrance he closes the gap and asks "where's Koakuma? And what happened to the library?"

Patchouli, who has just calmed down, tries to say speak "she... she... *sob* she's GOOOOONE!" and then starts crying again.

Sakuya and Meiling both stare venomously at Ail, and then Remilia calmly says "I'll tell you what Patchy told me. You see they were trying this transportation spell, and apparently it worked since Koakuma teleported herself to Patchy's room, followed by Patchy soon after. Patchy left the room and headed to the library and realized Koakuma wasn't following her so she went back, then saw a black spot right where Koakuma was standing only a few seconds before. Patchy went back to the library in a rush and then realized Koakuma wasn't there either, so she did a spell that removes the floors and walls, but didn't see Koakuma, and so she started to cry like that."

Patchouli wails "I killed her~! My poor Koakumaaaa!"

Ail closes his eyes for a moment and a moment later he says "I don't think she's dead. It's very faint but I can feel her energy. Take me to Miss Patchouli's room, please."

Sakuya, acting properly says "Mister Anilan, what kind of request is _that?_ You do _NOT_ ask to go to a lady's room so bluntly!"

Ail looks quite embarrassed as he says "I need to see the black spot where Koakuma disappeared!"

Sakuya gasps softly and says "oh; m-my mistake."

Patchouli grabs Ail by his hand, pulls him hard and says "hurry, hurry! Come and get my Koakuma back here!"

Remilia and Flandre look at each other, then at Sakuya and Meiling, and then shrug and follow after them to Patchouli's room.

The maid looks at the gate guard and commands "Meiling, you go back to the gate."

Meiling groans and complains "aww~, but why can't I go help?"

There is a glimmer in Sakuya's eyes as she pulls a dagger out of nowhere and says "are you disobeying my orders?"

The gate guard raises both hands in the air, panics and says "n-no sir, I mean ma'am;" then runs back to the gate.

* * *

On the way to Patchouli's room Ail tells Remilia about the shadow. "And so Reimu and I wanted to ask you to keep an eye out, now that that monster can take human form and cause such harm."

Remilia thinks for a bit then says "I'll inform Sakuya and Meiling of this, however if you fail to bring Koakuma back I'm not helping you."

Flandre only stares at her sister from the corner of her eyes, while Ail sweats a bit and forces a smile while saying "o~kay... I better find her then."

After arriving at Patchouli's room Ail immediately spots a large black stain in the middle of the room.

He gets close and kneels next to it, touches it, and then immediately backs away. "It's... it's the shadow's work."

Patchouli looks at the boy with confusion then shakes him up a bit before asking "what? What do you mean? Make some sense!"

Ail holds his head to try and stop the room from spinning, and then says "the shadow... it has the ability to trap others inside shadows!"

The magician touches the black stain; still not understanding Ail; then she opens her eyes wide and asks "so this is... an entry point?"

Back at Eientei Reimu keeps investigating the black stain when she says "if I channel some power here I can enter this place... but how to return from there?"

Eirin looks really worried, however she's trying her best to hold her worry back as she says "ma-maybe there is... and exit. Maybe."

Reimu stands and casually says "Eirin, you're worried, don't bottle that. You're smart enough to know that's not healthy."

Eirin lets out a loud puff, then starts to shiver and asks "c-c-can you s-save her?"

Reimu looks back at Eirin and looking quite serious she says "right now I wonder if I can enter and save myself. No choice... I'll have to go in and hope for the best."

At the Scarlet Mansion Ail kneels close to the black spot then says "I'm going in. She's in there, I can feel it!"

Patchouli anxiously says "but even I can't feel her presence in there... what makes you so sure she's in there?"

Ail looks back to her and says "because my heart says so."

Just then, Sakuya enters the room and says "My Lady, Mister Ail. Letty Whiterock just told Meiling that Cirno got swallowed up by a black hole on the ground."

Ail immediately steps on the center of the black stain and says "don't try to clean this yet. Wait until I come back with them, ok?"

He then closes his eyes and then the dark stain expands like slithering snakes that wrap themselves around the boy, and then pull in.

Back at Eientei Reimu is being pulled into the dark portal as well when she says "if I'm not back in an hour call Ran and Ail, and tell them to get Yukari and Marisa. They'll know what to do!"

A few seconds later she gets completely consumed by the dark hole and is swallowed into the darkness.

* * *

When Reimu opens her eyes she's already inside a large, dimly lit room surrounded by what look like black tree roots that have red beams coursing through them at a speedy rhythm.

She rapidly covers her nose and says "oh my goodness! I wish I didn't have a nose; it's smells like rotting corpses."

"Whatever you do, don't look down there... it's not pretty."

Reimu raises her sight to see who is in there with her, and then she widens her eyes and exclaims "Ail!? Did you get captured!?"

He helps her up then says "I'm here looking for Koakuma and Cirno."

Reimu dusts herself and replies "I'm looking for Eientei's moon rabbit. And what do you mean not to look down there?"

Ail points to her left, where about five feet away from them there is a pit, and Reimu goes to look down but the boy stops her.

His face looked almost sick when he says "don't... I almost lost my lunch when I looked."

The shrine maiden asks "what's down there? Ugh, why does it smell so bad?"

He suddenly turns around just as he says "it's full of corpses. Some are even moving down there. Did... did you hear that?"

Reimu is already looking down and sees countless corpses. Youkai, human, vampires, dragons; some of those corpses are really moving around there; all with their eyes removed, and their teeth shattered or completely removed as well.

Reimu's face turns a bit green then she says "that's... not a pretty sight."

They suddenly hear Cirno yelling from the distance "you're just afraid of me cuz' I'm the strongest! RELEASE ME AT ONCE!"

Reisen's voice follows "you idiot, don't agitate her!"

Cirno quickly responds "I'M NOT AN IDIOT! I am a genius!"

Reimu and Ail quietly move toward the source of the voices and after walking for only about 2 minutes they see a trembling Koakuma, next to Cirno, who is struggling with her bindings, and Reisen, who just keeps staring to her left. They are all separately tied by snake-like shadows.

Ail and Reimu are about to rush in, but hide behind one of the dark roots when they hear another voice.

"Three innocents; your blood will give me the power I need to break that barrier and escape this place!"

Ail and Reimu peek to see who is speaking. It's a woman with long wavy black hair that seems to slither on its own; her eyes are dark blue and glow in the darkness; she wears tight black clothes covered by an unbuttoned blue jacket and greyish-blue shorts, and thick black boots that reach half-way to her knees.

She also wears two black straps with a red sphere on each; one on her neck smf the other around her waist like a belt.

Reimu looks at her and whispers "those are power amplifiers!"

Ail whispers back "then we better be extra careful."

Back at Gensokyo, at their respective spots, Letty, Patchouli and Eirin stay next to the black stains on the floor and all wonder if they too should go in, however all three dark spots vanish at the same time in an instant, and all three girls get even more worried.

* * *

Reimu and Ail keep listening to the woman, who keeps floating above the corpse pit while laughing and saying "it's almost time; soon I'll be out of here and you... well, you'll all die for a just cause."

She suddenly lunges at them and Koakuma tries her best to get away, Reisen keeps looking for some way out, but then it is Cirno who stops her when shouting "you weak coward!"

The woman stops then says "weak? I am stronger all of you put together. I am even stronger than that shrine maiden of yours!"

The ice fairy glares at her then says "hah! Don't make me laugh. I am the strongest in all Gensokyo. That's why you tied me up; because you can't beat me!"

The woman snaps her fingers and Cirno is free, then angrily says "well little ice fairy, let's see if you truly are as strong as you say you are!"

Reisen shouts "RUN, GET HELP!"

Cirno smiles and says "I'm going to save you, just you watch!"

Without warning the woman turns her hand into a mallet and knocks Cirno back against the hard wall.

The ice fairy falls dazed on the floor and struggles to get back up, and staggers around while her eyes spin; she is barely able to keep her balance yet bravely says "that was a cheap shot. I'll get you as soon as you stop moving this room!"

Reisen spots Ail and Reimu and then gets an idea. "Good job little one, you stalled her long enough for our friends to get here!"

The woman laughs hard and says "you mean the maiden and the boy? I knew they were there the whole time. They just don't interest me right now."

Reisen's eyes begin to glow, and then suddenly the whole area is surrounded by many copies of Ail and Reimu.

The woman panics and shouts "what? They can multiply!?"

The copies star to move around as the woman goes and slashes one by one after having turned her hand into a saber.

The real Ail and Reimu rush to their friends and use some charms to free Koakuma and Reisen.

"I'm so glad you're all ok" says Ail with a smile.

Koakuma is still shaking a bit and said "l-l-look!"

From behind them, the woman angrily snarls then says "disgusting moon rabbit! That was a nasty trick; now here's mine!"

The woman turns her arm into a large spike and lunges it straight at Reisen, but Ail rapidly activates his spell card. "Brightness, Blinding Heart!"

This time, along with the rings, large white and blue orb bullets follow along the attack.

The woman screams as the bright rings of light burn her upon impact so she turns into a shadow and slithers around, avoiding the rest of the rings and bright bullets.

The boy turns to Reimu and the others and shouts "RUN, NOW!"

* * *

Ail grabs Cirno, who is still challenging the woman even though she is still quite dizzy.

Koakuma has to fly to keep up while Reimu and Reisen run ahead of them, and reach a dead end rather quickly.

"There's no way out. The exit is shut!" exclaims Reimu while touching the wall in hopes of finding an exit.

Koakuma shrieks and starts shooting large blue and white danmaku orbs along with some knives behind them, and then she flies behind Ail and Reimu for protection.

"You fools," exclaims the woman. "Did you really think I'd let you escape that easy?"

Reimu stands bravely with her honey on hand and shouts "fine, miss shadow, I'll just get rid of you here and now!"

Ail holds Reimu's shoulder and whispers "wait, if you do that this whole place might collapse with us in it."

The woman opens her dark blue eyes wide and angrily says "you shall address to me as _MISTRESS_ Agava! Yes... That's what the Yamas used to call me; Agava."

Reimu forces Ail's hand off and says "well Agava, I'm still going to beat you!"

Agava shoots small black round bullets at Reimu. They are barely visible in the darkness, however Reimu dodges them as if they were nothing.

"If that's all you have, then you better just give up now" says Reimu quite relaxed.

The shadow woman gets mad, raises both hands above her head, and then a large black ball forms above her and she throws it at Reimu and the others.

It looks like a direct hit, however Reimu had made a barrier around her, and Ail made a barrier for himself and Cirno, Reisen, and Koakuma.

The shrine maiden laughs and says "so _this_ is the best you have. Allow me!"

Reimu shoots a barrage of charms at Agava, who screams loudly and suddenly stops moving; staying suspended in mid-air.

Reimu turns back and says "now let's go look for that exit."

Ail is impressed, then turns around, puts Cirno on the ground, and then starts to look for an exit. They look everywhere but are unable to find a way out.

Reimu sighs and says "I was afraid this would happen. Hopefully Yukari will be able to come and get us."

Reimu sits with her back against the wall then Koakuma shouts "Miss Reimu, Mister Ail, I think I found something."

The little devil pulls hard on one of the dark roots in hopes of finding the exit, but then Reimu shouts "wait little devil, stop!"

The root breaks off and come followed by large dark blobs that fall from the ceiling. Ail is able to grab Koakuma in time and pull her to safety, then they all run back the dead end where the cave-in stops.

Sounding quite annoyed Reisen says "great, back where we started, with that THING floating over there."

Cirno confidently says "I'm not scared. If she wakes up, I'll just freeze her again."

Ail pats her on the head then says "but how are gonna get out of here?"

Sounding very confident again, the ice fairy replies "we'll get out before we even KNOW how we got out!"

Reimu sighs and places her hand on her face while slowly shaking her head left and right.

* * *

Ail closes his eyes and remembers Ran telling him that her master can open gaps that go through dimensional barriers, then he starts to wonder if he can also do that.

Just then he opens his eyes and sees Reimu looking up the wall, and behind her Agava is quietly preparing to slash her with her bladed hand.

"REIMU!" shouts Ail as he rushes straight at her, and just as Agava slashes, he pushes Reimu out of the way, receiving the shadow blade on his stomach.

Reimu turns around after hitting the ground and see's Ail's blood splashing like water while said boy struggles to keep his balance, while Agava is just about to slash him again.

Just then Cirno and Reimu, one from the left, the other from the right respectively, shoot at the shadow woman; Cirno freezing the blade hand, and Reimu knocking her out of the way.

Ail can't move and Reisen tries to get closer, but the boy places a barrier around himself then nods to them to let them know he's alright.

Reisen and Koakuma look at him as he closes his eyes and watch as a spell card materializes on his hand just as he declares "M-Mad Waves... Raging Splash!"

Ail shoots various extra large blue danmaku balls that align vertically at his sides while many scattered blue crystals head fast toward Agava, followed by the large orbs that spread as they head toward her, and it's all followed by watery waves that release more blue crystals that scatter as it all heads toward Agava.

At the last possible moment Ail gestures his hands to encase the waters all around Agava, and then shouts "Cirno! Freeze her!"

Reimu immediately shouts "PERFECT FREEZE!"

Without hesitation Cirno pulls out her spell card and declares "Freeze Sign, Perfect Freeze!"

Clusters of ice head directly toward water ball Ail had made, and then it freezes instantly. The ice block with Agava inside falls down to the corpse pit, then the boy drops to his knees and lightly holds his belly.

Reisen rushes to him and gets a good look at his wound. Reimu looks rather worried, and when the Moon Rabbit looks back at her with concern in her red eyes, the shrine maiden kneels down next to Ail.

"We need to get him to my master. The cut is too deep," says Reisen,

Reimu angrily barks "and how the hell do we do THAT!?"

The rabbit girl looks down, then Reimu apologizes, and then Ail closes his eyes. Both Reisen and Reimu shake him up a bit while the shrine maiden exclaims "don't you DARE die now you hear idiot!"

Koakuma gasps, points forward, and shouts "LOOK!"

A blue gap has opened right behind him, and it leads back to the Scarlet Devil Mansion.

Reimu shouts "Cirno, Koakuma, get in," and so they do without wasting a second.

Reisen and Reimu then follow holding Ail by his arms wrapped around their necks. When they pass through, the portal closes, then Ail triumphantly grunts "I did it!"

* * *

Koakuma reunites with Patchouli, but their celebration has to wait. Remilia holds her hand on her mouth and turns away from Ail and the scent of his blood, while Flandre calls out to said boy, but he doesn't wake up.

Reisen shouts "I need a towel, a thick cloth... anything to stop the blood!"

Sakuya nods, and then grabs Remilia and leaves. As Sakuya takes Remilia back to her room the vampire says "his blood smells so tasty! Thanks for getting me out of there, Sakuya"

The maid looks at Remilia and bows then says "you're welcome, my lady."

Sakuya returns to the lobby with a towel and hands it to Reisen, who gently places it on the boy's wound.

Reimu looks quite grim when she gets up and says "Cirno, do me a big favor. Go to the shrine and tell Kyo to meet us at the clinic, got it?"

Cirno salutes Reimu then says "I'm on my way."

Just as she heads out, Letty spots her and joins her. Meanwhile the shrine maiden trembles a bit before saying "no choice. We'll have to carry him to Entei."

Reisen is about to complain, but when she thinks about it she knows there is no other choice.

Meiling enters the mansion saying "I'll carry him there," but just then a sleepy Yukari and Ran pop from a gap just behind them. Ran gasps, and Yukari opens another gap without saying a word.

Reimu nods then says "Meiling, help us here."

The gate guard grabs Ail and carries him into the gap that leads straight to the clinic, with Reisen following closely.

Mumbling, Yukari tells Ran "go with them. Don't worry about me; they need you, Ran."

Ran hesitantly nods, and then gets out of the gap, and then Reimu and Yukari stare at each other, and Reimu asks "was the portal from before yours?" Yukari smiles and says "not entirely."

The shrine maiden and the vixen both head to the other gap with Reimu saying "Thank you" to Yukari, who yawns and gets back into her own gap, closing both as she disappears.

Koakuma looks at Patchouli and asks "he'll be alright... right?"

Flandre hugs Sakuya gently for support then looks at Koakuma, smiles and says "well of course. He's as strong as red and white sis!"

They all smile, but can't help but feel worried.

* * *

Mima flies in the air as fast as she can while holding the impatient Kyo by his arms, and said boy foolishly asks "can't you go any faster!?"

The woman angrily answers "maybe I should let you fall. You'd get the MUCH quicker, right hunk!?"

The boy pouts and says "alright, I'm sorry. I'm worried is all." Mima keeps quiet while looking very disappointed toward the clinic.

As soon as they land Kyo storms into the building, but sees Reimu looking sadly down to the ground and worriedly asks "what happened?"

The girl raises her sight to meet Kyo's eyes then says "she cut him. She missed me and cut him instead. I must remember to thank Meiling... she just left. She brought him here safely."

Kyo hurries over to see Ail, but Reimu says "Eirin put up a barrier until she's done. Nobody can go see him now."

The muscled boy sighs with frustration, sits beside Reimu, and then says "don't blame yourself. Ail would do stupid things like these back home. Taking the hit for someone he cares about. I felt pretty bad the first times he did that for me... but then he would say to me 'Kyo, this was my choice. I could have let you take the hit, but I chose not to.' At first is just made me mad, but then... well that's just how he is."

Reimu lifts her head then smiles, and then Kyo says "are you really that worried?"

Reimu stops smiling and just looks at the wall, then Marisa enters saying "of course she is, ze! That's one _really_ stupid question!"

They all laugh for a bit and then Kyo asks "hey, where's Mima?"

Reimu looks around with surprise and asks "Mima is here?"

The boy nods then says "yeah, she's the one that brought me here."

Marisa looks at both of them and says "well, she wasn't outside when I got here, and I _just_ got here, ze."

* * *

Eirin, Ran and Reisen are doing their best, but since Ail's wound is a shadow wound they need his shadow on the wall while they treat the wound or it would be like nothing.

Ran's hands start getting tired after holding an old flash light of Eirin's for an hour and a half, but she keeps holding on to it.

Eirin applies the last stitches and then Reisen sighs and says "finally, we're done".

Meanwhile, inside his mind Ail speaks with Shikieiki. "You did well Ail, but your training is not yet complete. And you _still_ need to guard the shrine maiden, and there's more for you to do before you leave."

A woman's voice adds "listen to the Yama young Ail. Don't give up now. If you give up now, fate will play a cruel hand, and there will be nobody left to change that hand."

Shiki looks up and says "you too, huh? See Ail? You have many friends to back you up now. Their love will be all the reward you'll need. I am sure you will understand what I mean someday."

Ail unconsciously mumbles "I... already do."

He starts to remember all the wonderful beings he's met since entering Gensokyo, and Kyo and his family as well. Even Medicine passes through his mind, making Ail smile and giggle a bit, and then he wakes up.

"Dude, you REALLY gave us quite a scare there," says Kyo just as Ail starts regaining consciousness.

Ail moans softly then asks "how's Reimu, is she ok?"

The shrine maiden immediately says "relax, I'm right here and completely unharmed, thanks to you, you idiot!"

He sits up and smiles, then rubs his face and asks "and Reisen, and Cirno... and Koakuma?"

Marisa enters and says "by some miracle you were able to open a gap back to the SDM, so they are all fine, ze."

Ail asks "the SDM?"

Reisen enters the room and says "The Scarlet Devil Mansion. Good morning."

Ail smiles and asks "for how long was I out?"

Reimu pats him on the head and says "just one day. You recovered overnight, thanks to Reisen and Eirin."

Ail closes his eyes for a moment, then while keeping them closed he asks "what happened to Agava?"

Reimu looks at ail a bit puzzled then says "you don't remember, huh?"

Ail opens his eyes and looks at Reimu with confusion, then she says "you unleashed a new spell card, and you and Cirno froze that wicked shadow. She fell to that disgusting corpse pit."

Ail jumps out of bed as if nothing, grabs his shirt then says "you realize that she's bound to get herself free."

Reimu nods and says "I know. But both spell cards together will have an added effect, so that ice won't thaw out until spring, or perhaps later."

Eirin comes in and says "this treatment is on the house... as thanks for bringing Udonge back."

Ail bows his head then just before they leave Kaguya, who is outside, looks at Ail but keeps quiet since Marisa, Reimu and Kyo, stare daggers at her, and so she just continues on her way to the clinic.

Ail laughs as they fly; he holding Kyo by his arms, and then says "you know, even if we don't like each other that much, I'm glad I met Kaguya, as well as everyone here in Gensokyo."

When they arrive at the shrine, they are greeted by Ran, Chen and Mima; who again takes Chen then runs away from Ran immediately.

* * *

For three and a half weeks the furious snowstorms rage on, however Ail and Ran continue to train under such weather.

Kyo and Mima try to train as well, however Mima gets frozen while Kyo gets blown away by powerful gusts.

This happens more than once, so they decide it is best to drink sake instead of training; until the weather settles.

After the weather settles Ran and Ail's training becomes more and more intense, and the boy learns many ways to use danmaku; even managing to make lasers now as a common attack for him.

Even his focused shots change a little, becoming much stronger, the blasts wider, and come accompanied by either spread white danmaku orbs, or homing lasers.

His gaps through barriers are also improving. He can open gaps to different places, dimension, even gaps to impossible locations, however he still hasn't reached Yukari's level.

During a meditation training, Ran says to him "I am amazed that even though you're so bad with math, you can still open gaps very accurately. I still wonder how that's even possible."

Ail smiles and says "it's probably because of my heart. It can do wondrous things you know."

Ran chuckles and says "right now I'm inclined to believe you."

They both chuckle while a gap opens right behind them and sucks the boy in by force. Ran opens her eyes when he yelps when the gap sucks him in.

The vixen stares at the spot the gaps was at and casually asks "oh no. I wonder where he went."

* * *

At an unknown field of peach trees, two girls walk along the path between said trees.

One has long flowing sandy blond hair golden eyes, and she wears a dark blue dress with a strap to the left over a long-sleeved white blouse, and a loose belt with a gold mirror-shaped buckle.

She is eating some peaches while the other looks very seriously are her. This other girl has light blue hair tied into a ponytail with a yellow ribbon and brown eyes, and she wears a dark red dress with a strap on the right side over a white short-sleeved blouse and a loose belt with a gold sword-shaped buckle.

"Toyohime; are you going to keep eating peaches all day?" asks the blue haired girl.

The one called Toyohime whimsically replies "but they are just so good Yorihime. You should eat more."

At that moment a blue gap opens right next to them and Ail falls on his face just as he falls through.

It quickly closes behind him as he gets up and rubs his nose while saying "not one of my best landings. Where am I?"

The boy turns around and sees the two girls, who stare at him quietly before he politely bows and says "hello, my name is Ail. Excuse me, but could you tell me where I am?"

Toyohime says "why hello, Ail. I am Watatsuki no Toyohime, and this is my sister, Watatsuki no Yorihime and you are at the Moon Capital's gardens."

Ail bows again and says "hello Miss Yorihime and Miss Toyohime, a pleasure."

Toyohime giggles saying "Actually we're both married, so it should be Missis..."

Ail bows apologetically and says "please forgive me." He raises his head to look around and says "so the moon huh? Oh well, I better be getting back to Genso-"

Ail pauses for a moment and looks up. He sees the Earth right above them then he shouts "THE MOON~!?"

Ail starts running in circles waving his arms around repeating "the Moon, the Moon, I'm on the Moon! This is so awesome; the Moon!"

Toyohime giggles and says "my, he's really excited, isn't he, sis?"

Ail laughs and then says "this is nice and all, but now I don't know how to get back home. I mean I don't even know how I got here. Oh well, maybe Yukari can help me."

Just like a trigger to a gun, mentioning the name of Yukari makes Yorihime unleash her sword and stab it on the ground, and soon after many swords surround Ail, stopping him on his tracks.

The boy looks at both girls and nervously asks "err, was it something I said?"

Yorihime glares at Ail and says "that woman tried to invade the moon twice already. If you are friends with her, then that means she's coming back to try and invade the moon, right?"

Somehow, Ail stands right next to her when replying "invade the Moon; By myself? Look, I came here by accident. I don't even know how I got here!"

Yorihime gets quite surprised and shouts "how the heck did you get free from there!? Fine, I'll stop playing games."

She places her fingers on her lips and whistles, and now Ail is running like mad while 6 moon rabbits with guns chase him around while shooting at random and saying:

"Look at him run;"

"Wow, he looks funny;"

"Can we keep him?"

Toyohime taps her sister on the shoulder and asks "sis, what if he was telling the truth?"

Yorihime looks back at her sister, sighs and says "you know we can't risk it."

As the boy runs he somehow opens another gap that sucks him in, and so disappears as soon as said gap closes up.

The moon rabbits all aw in disappointment, then head back with their heads and ears lowered. One of them says "I wanted him as a trophy."

* * *

After floating inside the gap for some time Ail finally sees a light, and then suddenly "URK!" he lands on his face on the cold snow.

He gets up, shakes his head and asks "where am I now?"

From behind him he hears two girls calling for him. For a moment he thinks it's the Lunarians, but when he turns around he sees Reimu and Ran, and sighs with great relief before placing his hand on his chest.

Back inside the shrine Reimu asks "you've been gone for _hours_! Where were you?"

Ail points up and says "the Moon."

Ran, Reimu, Mima and Kyo look at each other then start laughing hard and rolling on the floor. Ail is a bit annoyed by that, but he just sighs and says "I'm just glad to be back."

Chen gets on his lap and asks "did you bring something from the moon?"

Ail rummages through his pockets and pulls out a really large peach, then Ran and Reimu stop laughing and the shrine maiden asks "wait, you weren't kidding?"

Ail looks at them with disappointed eyes and says "why would I lie about that? I even met Yorihime and Toyohime. Toyohime was nice, but Yorihime was a real piece of work. I mean, I only mentioned Yukari and she surrounds me with swords."

Reimu and Ran sweat, then Reimu says "you really went to the Moon, alright; but wait, I thought Yukari said you couldn't reach the Moon with gaps."

Ran is as surprised as Reimu when she says "it _is_ impossible. There's no WAY! There's not even a full moon today! Even with a full moon, it should impossible for him."

The shrine maiden points at the boy in question and says "but he met the Lunarians, so he was there!"

Ran then points at Reimu and says "maybe it was someone else!"

The shrine maiden gets closer to the vixen and says "but he brought a peach!"

The nine-tailed shikigami quickly replies "peaches grow everywhere!"

And so on, and so on they continue pitching different logics. Ail gets tired of listening so he gets up and heads outside just as Chen gets off his lap while eating the large peach.

* * *

Ail walks around the back of the shrine for a bit and stops to look at the bit of then half-moon visible through the winter clouds.

Mima hovers just above the snow to reach his side, and then says "Reimu told me you used a pretty cool power to save them from that Agava; another new spell card. She was quite impressed."

Ail keeps looking at the moon and says "it wasn't my power that saved us from her."

Mima smiles and asks "so then whose was it?"

Ail looks at Mima and smiles back when saying "Cirno's."

Mima continues to smile, and then Ail says "I just distracted her. It was Cirno who froze her. If it wasn't for her we'd all be dead."

Mima says "correction young man: if it wasn't for you **_and_** the ice fairy. Don't forget that."

Ail lets out a small chuckle and says "before this is all over, we will need Cirno's help again."

Mima and Ail quietly smile at each other then the woman asks "so you went to the moon? How was it?"

Ail looks back at the moon and says "I think I want to go back there again, for a friendly visit."

He turns around to look at Mima with a grin on his face and says "it was quite a lot of fun."

* * *

To be continued...

Characters and scenario belong to ZUN -Team Shanghai Alice-

Ail and Kyo were created by Willie G.R.

The "Darkness Sign - Lights-Off Dance" and "Mad Waves - Raging Splash" spell cards were created by Willie G.R. (Any similarities are strictly coincidental) Some assistance by Snapshot2010

JUL 3 2009

Written by

Willie G.R.

**-Edited on JUL 4 2013 by Willie G.R.-**


	13. Chapter 10

It is almost time for spring to come; the snowstorms have stopped and the days were starting to get warmer, and Ail and Ran are completing the last of their training together.

Ran fires an immense barrage of large danmaku orbs at Ail, who opens a gap and immediately appears besides the vixen, then fires his homing laser focused shots; a mixture of his orange danmaku orbs that explode on impact that are now followed by two blue homing lasers.

Ran dodges just in time but is grazed by the lasers. She then fires another barrage of indigo colored petal-shaped bullets and the boy opens another gap to appear right behind her, then he fires his spread 8-way lasers at her, but she dodges these with ease.

Ail is winded now so Ran shouts "that's 11 gaps already, start using your barriers!"

He nods and just as the blonde fires another wide barrage of danmaku, Ail activates a barrier to protect himself from the barrage, then he responds by firing another wave of focused shots; these ones accompanied by white danmaku orbs that spread widely.

Ran backs away and says "not bad, not bad. Let's do the real test now."

The nine-tailed vixen pulls out a spell card and declares "Kokkuri-san's Contract!"

Ran vanishes, and then Ail is surrounded by bright lights that make a large circle.

Outside of said circle the bright lights shape laser swords and then starts moving unevenly and slowly around, while many blue danmaku bullets fly in straight horizontal, vertical and diagonal lines.

Ail holds up his barrier as the blue bullet barrage impacts it, at the same time he keeps moving along with the bright lights that surround him.

50 seconds pass and suddenly the lights start banging on Ail's barrier, constricting it. Ail notices it's about to break so he shrinks the barrier just as countless more blue bullets head his way unevenly.

For 10 more seconds he endures, and then it is all over, just like that. Ran reappears in front of Ail, who calls off his barrier at that moment.

She stares at him and says "impressive. Your barriers are as strong as lady Yukari's, however..."

The boy breathes deeply and says "breaking gaps on barriers takes a lot of energy out of me."

Ran nods and says "let's rest for a bit before continuing."

* * *

Ail sits under a still leafless tree and eats an apple with some tea. His moment of silences comes to an end when Mima flies out of the shrine with yet another change of clothes.

She's wearing a long-sleeved blue shirt and a long blue skirt with a yellow sun and star designs on the bottom, and a blue cape. The rest is just the same.

She twirls in place and asks "how do I look?" Ail stares for a second and says "blue is definitely your color."

Mima smiles and says "thanks" then heads back to the shrine shouting "you were right hunk, it _does_ suite me!"

From inside Kyo says "geez, why does she always do that?"

On the tree Ail sits under, there are three fairies talking to each other; although Ail cannot see or hear them. He just keeps drinking the rest of his tea.

One fairy has light-blue eyes and short gold hair tied with red ribbons to the sides of her head, wears a red and white dress-like cloth, and her wings seem to just float around her back.

That fairy giggles, then asks "hey Luna, are you sure you're using your powers right?"

The other fairy looks at her. She has brown eyes, curly blonde hair, wears a poofy hat with a black ribbon on it, a white one-piece dress-skirt, and adorns herself with black ribbons. Her wings also seem to just float around her back.

She seems to be annoyed when she says "sure I'm sure Sunny. What kind of question is that?"

The third fairy has grey eyes, long straight black hair, wears a blue dress-like outfit, and has a blue bow on her head. Her wings seem to float around her back as well, though hers are larger.

She looks at Sunny and Luna, and then says "hey, why don't we confuse him and make him think he's seeing rainbows all around him?"

Sunny brightens up and says "that sounds like fun, Star."

All three giggle just as Ail looks around suspiciously, and then he closes his eyes and places his tea cup on his right side.

Sunny clicks her tongue with annoyance and says "he's cheating. He closed his eyes."

Star looks disappointed when saying "maybe he didn't see them. Are you sure you're doing it right?"

Luna shrieks then the other two look to where she is, and there is Ail holding their friend by the back of her collar like a doll while floating next to them.

Sunny and Star try to get away, but bump into one of Ail's barriers while looks at them curiously and says "that was a mean trick. I thought I was going crazy AND deaf. Good thing I picked up on your energy."

Sunny and Star keep quiet while Luna whines and says "whaa~! Let me go!"

Ail looks at Star and says "you know, you look just like the princess of Eientei. Ah well."

The boy releases Luna then says "you can leave, but if I catch you trying to trick people again, I'm going to have to punish you."

All three shake while hugging each other tightly when they manage to nod, so then the boy releases the barrier, and then the three fairies fly away with great haste.

* * *

It is now late noon, and Ran and Ail continue with their training. Ran is moving fast all around the shrine and shooting danmaku all around Ail, who also moves all over the place while shooting back at Ran.

He pulls out his spell card and declares "Brightness, Blinding Heart!"

The now familiar white rings and orbs of light grow from the boy's heart and spread widely at a fast pace.

Ran dodges every single shot and ring with ease and then says "Anilan, try to vary your attacks. You're using that spell card way too much. It is going become stale!"

At that very moment one of the orbs of light hits her, pushing her back.

After the times out, Ail smiles and says "alright, but I still got you there."

Ran chuckles and pulls out a spell card, then declares "Shikigami, Wizard Fox Thoughts!"

Extra large blue danmaku orbs explode after Ran shoots them. They turn into green-colored petal bullets that spread as if they are blooming flowers.

Ail combines his speed, barriers and gaps to avoid the danmaku shower, then pulls another spell card from his pockets and declares "Mad Waves, Raging Splash!"

Vertically lined extra large danmaku orbs spread out sideways as they follow the small blue scattered crystals that rapidly go to Ran, then all are followed by a wave of water that is followed by even more spread blue crystals.

There is a large explosion that rattles the entire shrine and Reimu runs out of the living room, and angrily asks "what are you two _DOING_!?"

Both Ran and Ail lie knocked on the ground, singed, and with their clothes full of tears.

Above them, Suwako is dressed in black and white referee stripes. She waves her hands horizontally across her chest and loudly says "it's over! Double K.O.!"

Behind the blonde goddess pops out Rumia asking "is that so~?" Just like that, both Suwako and Rumia leave then Reimu places her hands on her hips and says "honestly; you'd think they were doing this on purpose!"

From behind Reimu Marisa asks "and what purpose would that be, ze?"

Reimu casually says "to bug me!"

* * *

It is late noon, the sun is almost set, however it wasn't setting, and many youkai have come to the Hakurei Shrine to complain about how it should be dark by now. They insist so much that Reimu decides to look into this incident.

Flying low, Reimu spots a strange silhouette and looks up. There she sees Agava looking toward the sun, and then the shadow woman turns around to look back at her with a twisted smile.

When she turns, her hands are made into three long spikes, and impaled in those is Ail.

Reimu shouts, but no sound came out of her. When she looks behind her Kyo is on the ground with a cut made by a sword and the Hakurei Shrine is burning, and soon after Gensokyo starts vanishing before her eyes in a sea of fire and shadows.

* * *

Reimu quickly spring on her futon and looks around her room; it's still dark. Her heart is beating fast and she is covered in sweat, though through her panting she manages to slowly calm down.

She sees a little bit of morning light from the tiny crack on her ceiling and realizes it's actually morning, and then she hears Ail and Ran talking.

"...We trained so hard, and you have improved your skills and abilities beyond what I thought possible for you, and yet opening gaps in barriers keeps taking a lot from you," says Ran as she walks around the shrine.

Reimu gets out of her room and sees that Ran is packing hers and Chen's things, and Ail is helping her, even though he's looking sad about.

He sighs and says "I don't understand why those gaps cost me so much energy. Even my energy manipulation abilities have increased thanks to your training, but those gaps..."

The shikigami turns to face him, smiles and says "don't get me wrong, Ail. If anything I am amazed and very proud of how far you have come in just two months. I should also thank you too. This training helped both of us in the end."

Ran packs Chen's books as Ail sits quietly while she keeps talking "I am just baffled by that small fact over your gaps."

Reimu steps in and says "don't forget two things. One, he's only been here for 9 and a half months, and two, he's still half human."

Both Ran and Ail look at Reimu with a bit of surprise and say at the same time "**Reimu; good morning.**"

The nine-tailed vixen gets closer to the shrine maiden and asks "are you ok? You look so pale."

The black haired girl looks at Ail, then at Ran, and says "it's nothing;" then the boy says "well I think Reimu's right. I think what I lack is more experience."

Ran smiles and says "maybe you're both right. The important thing is you've learned to control these powers quite well... although sometimes..."

Ail heads to the kitchen while saying "if you're referring to that moon business or that gap into my imagination, you'll be glad to know those were accidental and haven't happened again."

The two girls laugh as they head to the porch where Ail gives them tea. Reimu drinks some immediately then says "so you're leaving?"

Ran nods as she drinks her tea then grabs a cookie. Reimu takes another sip of tea and says "sure am gonna miss your tea."

The shikigami giggles, then Ail sits by her side as she says "I haven't made the tea for almost a week. Ail's been the one preparing it."

The boy smiles and waves at Reimu, then the shrine maiden, sounding very impressed, says "wow, this is really good." Ail nods as thanks to her.

* * *

Then sun is fully up now. Mima and Kyo wake up almost at the same time along with Chen, and then they all have breakfast together. Shortly after that, Ran picks up their bags and says "well everyone; thanks for everything."

Ail bows his head and responds "and thank you very much as well, Miss Ran."

Ran giggles and notices Mima is just about to cry so she pats Chen on the shoulder, then Chen heads to the evil spirit and says "Miss Mima, I'll miss you." She then hugs Mima and gives her a kiss on her cheek. The woman's lips start to tremble.

Reimu hands Ran a charm and then says "if you run into any trouble use this charm, It'll alert us immediately."

The blonde bows her head, gives thanks to her host, grabs her bags, and then calls Chen.

Mima hugs the cute nekomata once more then lets her go. Just before they leave Ran turns to Kyo and says "Kyo, even though I was here I didn't get a chance to really get to know you. Maybe next time, ok?"

Kyo smiles and nods, then casually says "sure thing"

Shortly after Ran and Chen leave back home to their mistress Mima starts to cry, then just as they vanish from view she cries "the cute little kitty leeeeeeft!"

She then uses Kyo's shoulder to cry on and of course the muscled boy is not amused by this, and just lightly pats her on the shoulder.

Ail and Reimu look at each other then shrug at the same time, and then they go about their daily lives.

Kyo tries to move away, but Mima clings tighter on to him so he sighs and just gives up.

* * *

Ail sits on the ground at the back of the shrine to admire how most of the snow is gone by now, and to enjoy the warm sun's rays, which feel really good for him; so he just sat there humming tunes he's heard from Mystia.

He looks up and sees a peculiar fairy high above. She has green eyes and long blonde hair, has a pair of white feathered wings and wears a white pointy hat and a long white dress, both with red wave patterns outlining the edges.

She curls into a ball and stays like that while still in mid-air.

Ail can hear her saying "I~~T'S..." but gets worried when she stays like that so he flies up to check on her.

"Hey little fairy, are you alright?"

She is trembling so he gets closer, and just when he is about to touch her shoulder she spreads her arms and legs and shouts "SPRING~!" She releases countless bullets all around, hitting Ail with a LOT of them.

She notices him and stares as he floats there with his face singed and coughing up black smoke.

She keeps looking at him quite curiously, and then Ail says "that was... ADORABLE!"

He grabs her and spins her around, calling her the cutest thing he's ever seen, then he twirls her in the air, making her laugh and giggle as he does, then again she spreads her arms and legs and exclaims "it's spring, it's spring!"

She keeps shooting danmaku all around, but Ail just keeps laughing and calling her adorable. When the boy looks down he realizes the whole ground is alive again. The flowers have bloomed and the trees are full of leaves again.

Still holding on to the fairy the boy asks "did you do all this?"

Reimu comes out and shouts "Ail, what are you doing to Lily White?"

Ail goes down and Lily follows after him and he now realizes she is half his size.

"Lily White?" asks Ail as he turns to Lily and asks again "is that your name?"

Lily smiles and nods, and then Kyo walks out of the shrine and asks "what's with all the noise?"

The blonde fairy gets behind Ail and trembles a bit while angrily glaring at Kyo from behind Ail.

The boy notices her behavior and casually says "oh that's just my friend, Kyo, and I am Ail."

Lily smiles at Ail, but when she looks at Kyo she just sticks her tongue out at him.

Reimu says "she's the fairy of spring you know; well, at least that's what we call her since everywhere she goes spring is sure to come quickly."

Kyo then boastfully says "a-ha I see. Well, I'm a summer person myself, so it's no wonder she doesn't like me."

* * *

Ail gives Lily a cookie and some tea. He can't keep his eyes off her as she finishes the tea, eats the cookie, then bows in gratitude, and finally flies away shouting "It's spring!" and shooting bullets at random.

Right after she's gone, Suika calls from the shrine's roof "hey Ail, Reimu!"

She jumps down and meets the surprised Reimu, who says "Suika!? I haven't seen you in some time."

The little oni rubs the back of her head and says "I've been preparing for today."

Reimu asks "why, what's happening today?"

With a large grin on her face that scares both Ail and Reimu she says "today, Kyo and I..."

"...are going to have a little fight..." finishes Kyo, who stands on the shrine's porch.

Kyo and Suika now stand in the middle of the small field at the back of the shrine, where Reimu; at Kyo's and Suika's request; has placed a barrier around them to create a square arena.

Inside the barrier the boy and the oni grin at each other, and then Suika says "this is a one-on-one battle with no spell cards. Only melee, abilities and medium leveled danmaku are acceptable."

The muscled boy smiles and says "been waiting for this all through winter!"

The oni girl smiles back and says "just make sure to make it last and don't hold back; I know I won't."

Ail and Reimu look at each other quite worried, then the shrine maiden asks "Kyo, when did you two agree to this?"

The muscled boy looks back at them and says "since the dark energy incident. Don't worry; I've trained hard for this."

Ail then holds his chin and says "ooh~ so THAT'S why he was training so hard."

From behind Reimu, Marisa says "I bet my money on Kyo."

Reimu gets surprised, but relaxes quickly and says "you're on!"

Ail calmly looks at both battlers and says "I'll bet on a draw..."

Both Marisa and Reimu think about it for a while, and then say "no way!"

The boy shrugs while Marisa says "do you know something?"

He smiles and says "I'm sorry, the bets have been made. Too bad I didn't make mine in time."

Marisa looks at Ail in disbelief for a while then turns to watch the match. Mima comes out of the shrine to watch, looking uninterested, however.

Kyo and Suika size each other for a bit, and then Kyo rushes to attack.

Suika drinks some sake then spits out fire, but the muscled boy jumps away just in time and launches a punch hard to the ground, missing Suika by an inch.

The impact leaves a small crater that Reimu did not like one bit. Kyo recovers and jumps back to avoid Suika's gourd, which was heading straight to his face.

Suika smiles and says "not bad... for a human," and then shoots a large fireball.

Kyo smiles, and then with his bare hand he grabs it and throws it back. Ail, Reimu and Marisa are incredibly impressed, however Mima only yawns.

The boy now unleashes the energy that surrounds his arms, though doesn't give them form yet, then Suika rushes to him and tries to uppercut him, however he flips right out of the way just in time.

Mystia, Wriggle and Rumia join in to watch the fight from the tree branches surrounding the area.

Suika smiles and runs away from Kyo, then flips in the air, double-kicks the barrier, then uses the recoil to launch herself back at the boy with her fist ready, however Kyo ducks at the last moment and punches upward, pushing Suika up, and then as she falls down he follows with a kick, sending her back and to the ground, then he gets up and faces the oni again.

Suika gets up and dusts herself, then drinks some sake and says "you're a tough little human; to be able to actually bruise me, and oni, just like that."

Kyo smirks and chuckles, then says "I told you I would train hard just for this."

Suika smiles and says "I am glad. For a moment I thought it'd be over on the first punch."

The little oni suddenly disappears then reappears right in front of Kyo, who receives a direct punch to the face.

He's sent flying toward the barrier, however he flips in the air and uses his feet to bounce off said border, and launches himself toward Suika again while his right hand glows red as he launches the attack, landing a direct punch on Suika's face and sending her spinning backward.

Now Aya, Momiji, Suwako and Nitori have joined to watch the fight. Ail and Reimu look around as the youkai watch the fight as if in a trance and notices that Aya isn't even taking any photos.

Suika rubs her cheek while smiling at Kyo. She takes another big gulp of sake and says "you know something? That really hurt."

* * *

The shrine is full of many youkai that have come to see the fight. The entire Scarlet Devil Mansion is there too, as well as Yuugi, Parsee and Koishi, Kanako and Sanae; who have just arrived.

Said shrine maiden sits next to Ail and when he notices he blushes along with her, however Kanako sits behind them and she places her hand on Ail's shoulder, letting him know she is there. His face turns from red to blue in just one second.

Keine and Mokou arrive by flying, Yuka, who carries five pots full of dirt gives them to Ail for him to energize yet again. Medicine hides behind the trees, and Alice sits next to Marisa. It is like a big reunion indeed.

Meanwhile, back at the Moriya shrine, something enters the living quarters and looks around the rooms.

It enters the largest room and finds the bottle with the red spirit that had possessed Ail before.

It takes the bottle and laughs, then opens it. The little red spirit inside tries to get away, but something forces it to enter the intruder.

It drops the bottle on the floor where it shatters to bits, then the intruder flies away from where it came, cackling as it leaves.

Back at the Hakurei Shrine, half of the youkai there cheer for Kyo, while the other half cheer for Suika.

The battle keeps getting more intense. It is already noon and they are still going, and both are just a bit winded.

* * *

Kyo's face is full of bruises, his clothes are in tatters, and yet he smiles at Suika and says "you know, I never thought I could actually last this long against you."

Suika's face is also full of bruises, her clothes are in tatters and quite dirty, and even the ribbon on her horn has fallen off.

She looks at Kyo with a serious face for a moment, but then she smiles as she says "never have I had this much fun with a human; other than Reimu, that is."

Just then they both lunge at each other once more and both punch each other's fists and kick each other's legs as if they're synchronized.

They back away and Suika tosses an orange colored ball that Kyo dodges by rolling right, then he tosses a red one back at her.

They keep tossing fireballs at each other until two of them crash in mid-air, exploding on contact and creating a thick smoke screen that block the view of the battle, however all outside can hear them battle on.

When the smoke clears both fighters can be seen again, and they are exhausted. They smile at each other then run towards one another while pulling their fists behind themselves, and when they get close they both release their attacks at the same time and each landing a direct hit on each other, then both get blown away by the force of the impact.

Neither one can get up, the crowd falls silent for a moment, and then start cheering on. Both Kyo and Suika struggle to get up; staggering a lot as they do.

The muscled boy smiles at the oni, who smiles back before they both fall down at the same time.

Reimu holds Suwako in her referee outfit in a headlock and shouts "don't you DARE!"

While that happens, Patchouli flies close to the barrier, observes the situation, and then says "it's over. Tt's a double knockout!"

Both Marisa and Reimu grip their heads and shout "**NO~**" as Ail grins at them.

They both turn to him and say "**you _KNEW_, didn't you!?**"

Ail nervously tries to back away and forces a smile while saying "it was just a wild guess!"

Mima yawns, and then heads back to the shrine murmuring "I told him not to do that; oh well."

The other youkai at the shrine start to leave and all keep talking about the fight excitedly. Before the SDM leave, Flandre goes to Ail and give him a bone-crushing hug, then to Marisa, and then Reimu, and then she giggles and leaves.

All three are on the ground and trying to reposition their spines. Thankfully Sanae is still there, so she somehow rearranged their spines with the help of a miracle, and then helps them up while saying "heheh; and I'm not even a physician."

* * *

It is night now, and Sanae, Suwako and Ail sit at the porch at the back of the shrine while casually talking and drinking tea.

"So how's your leg?" asks Ail to Sanae, who answers "it's perfectly fine, thank you for asking."

Suwako quickly adds "it was a real miracle, you know?"

From inside, Kanako and Reimu are having a small conversation, when the goddess suddenly shouts "Ail, I'm sorry for the other day."

The turns around and replies "don't worry about it. I blew a fuse that day as well."

Reimu then adds "yeah, and I had to forcefully fix that, remember?"

Ail trembles and says "Oh... that's right."

Kanako then says to the shrine maiden "you know, it's been pretty peaceful these days."

Reimu replies "which means something's bound to happen soon."

Alice comes from the kitchen and says "for a shrine maiden you sure are quite negative."

Just as Alice sits down Marisa grabs one of her cookies, but Shanghai tries to get it back, however Marisa just licks it, making Shanghai back away, all while Alice continues saying "but you're probably right, as always."

Reimu just casually looks at Alice and says "remember, that thing is still alive. It's only a matter of time before it comes back again."

All keep very quiet, and then Marisa breaks the silence asking "hey, I'm curious. Didn't Kyo say he'd leave Gensokyo as soon as Ail learned to open a gap home?"

Reimu nods then Marisa continues "then why is he still here?"

Ail responds for Reimu, saying "because we had a little chat and decided neither of us is leaving until Agava is properly dealt with."

Reimu remembers the nightmare she had in the morning. It's like reliving a horrible event. Ail and Kyo, dead; killed by Agava right before her eyes.

She snaps out of it when Alice shakes her lightly and asks "Reimu, what's wrong?"

Reimu shakes her head and says "just a bit sleepy."

Marisa grabs another cookie, however Shanghai breaks it with a karate-chop before Marisa licks it again, and leaving the witch with a really small piece, then hands the larger piece to Alice, who eats it without questioning.

Marisa then says "so Reimu, shouldn't we wake those two up already?"

Kyo and Suika are still on the ground with their eyes spinning and the barrier around them removed.

Reimu casually replies "nah, there's no need. Let them sleep in the great outdoors."

* * *

Yukari opens a gap just behind Reimu while saying "my~, who could have though a mere half-human could match Suika."

Ail excitedly turns around and heads toward Yukari asking "Lady Yukari!? Did Ran and Chen make it back alright!?"

The blonde woman smiles and says "don't worry, they are ok. They are at the village right now. Ran tells me you have come a long way young man."

Ail nods and says "yeah, but... well I can't handle opening those gaps like you can."

Yukari chuckles and says "well you can't expect to master something like that so quickly."

Reimu drinks her tea and says "I told you."

Yukari inspects Ail and asks "how many, and for how long?"

Ail immediately responds "about 15, for 30 minutes each."

Yukari opens her fan and says "well, for a beginner like you that is more than good enough. Just keep using them and you'll get the hang of it."

Yukari spots Kanako, who smiles back at her, then she pulls out a bottle of sake and the goddess has her extra large cup ready for it.

Somehow, Suika and Kyo are beside Kanako already, smiling and with their cups ready at hand as well.

Ail looks at them and says "amazing recovery."

Alice and Marisa, who are now to Ail's right, say "uh-huh" then Marisa joins them in begging for drinks.

The boy goes back to the porch, and then Suwako says "it's not that I'm weak against sake like you two, I just rather just play danmaku."

Ail sighs while Sanae just giggles, then Ran softly lands in front of them.

"Miss Ran, welcome," says the boy before he looks around and asks "and where's Chen?"

Ran smiles and says "hello everyone. Oh, Chen? She went to the Bamboo Forest with that Eientei rabbit youkai; oh, and I see lady Yukari is already drinking. Ugh, can't take my eyes off her for a-"

Just like that an explosion rocks the shrine. Ail and Ran both lift up to the air and see two danmaku sources just above the Bamboo Forest.

Ran's eyes fill with panic just before she flies as fast as she can to the forest while shouting "Chen! Chen, I'm coming, Chen!" Ail follows closely behind Ran!

* * *

They arrive at the forest and see Kaguya and Mokou shooting each other with massive bullets of fire and light beams.

Ran desperately calls for Chen while Ail scans the area.

"Ran! Be careful! Those blasts are dangerous!" shouts the boy, trying to raise his voice over the constant blasts and explosions.

Some parts of the forest are on fire, making the shikigami more desperate. Ail goes over to see if he can calm the two girls down, when Ran spots Chen crying over Mima, who apparently was hit by one of the battlers' stray shots.

Ran calls for Chen and Ail turns around and sees the nekomata and knocked evil spirit, and then rushes to them, however when both Ran and Ail get close a round, invisible barrier blocks their way.

The vixen beats on the barrier while the half youkai tries to open a gap through it, but nothing happens. "What's going on!? I can't break open this barrier!"

At that moment one of Mokou's massive fireballs heads to Eientei, but it somehow turns around and heads straight to Chen.

Ail instinctively places a barrier in its path to destroy the fireball, but it avoids it, and then Ran cries out for Chen, making the boy more desperate.

Every barrier he makes is avoided, as if the fireball is alive and conscious. It enters the invisible barrier and Ail desperately tries to open a gap to cover Chen with one of his barriers, but all of his attempts fail and the massive fireball explodes as it hits the small nekomata.

Ran shouts as loud as she can and fires bulelts at the invisible barrier, but nothing happens to it.

* * *

The barrier suddenly vanishes, and Ran and Ail quickly fly towards Chen and Mima.

Both are heavily injured. Ran sobs desperately and keeps calling out to Chen. This makes Ail start to cry too, but his tears dry up and his eyes filled with rage.

He flies to Mokou and Kaguya and places a barrier between them, then focuses and shoots a massive blast with homing lasers at Mokou, then one at Kaguya just as she begins to laugh at her nemesis; the shots explode hard on contact.

Mokou and Kaguya angrily get close to Ail, but he grabs their necks tightly and shouts "YOU TWO MORONS! Look what you did!"

Ail points them toward the burning forest, Eirin, Tewi and Reisen doing their best to put out some of the fires, and then points them at Chen, Mima and Ran.

He lets both of them go and shouts "what in BLAZES made you use so much power, you IDIOTS!?"

Kaguya and Mokou both look angrily at Ail who says "I have a good mind to blast you 100 times... but I got more important things to handle here."

The boy slowly flies back down to Ran, Chen and Mima while the angry Kaguya and Mokou prepare to shoot at him hard, but Ail turns around and fires his lasers at their heads, knocking them down.

He lands softly next to Ran who cries "she's not waking up."

Ail closes his eyes, and in his mind he calls for help "help... I really need help now. My friends are hurt... I want to save them;" but nobody answers this time.

He opens his eyes again and says "then I'm on my own."

A spell card materializes right in front of his chest, on the center of his heart, so he grabs the card and asks Ran to back away a little.

With her face full of tears and with her voice cracking, the nine-tailed fox asks "what are you going to do?"

Ail places the spell card on Chen's limp hand and softly says "Blast Sign, Expansion that Soothes"

The nekomata is quickly surrounded by 30 orange danmaku orbs. Ail backs away a little then places his hand on the orbs' trail, and each exploding upon contact.

Each explosion sends green colored sparks to Chen, and after being hit by 15 of these, Ail pulls his burnt hand away.

He is just about to place the other hand when Ran blocks him and places her hand instead, and after the remaining 15 orbs explode the energy is sent straight to the nekomata, who opens her eyes slightly and weakly asks "Ran-sama? Are you there, Ran-Sama?"

Ran immediately grabs Chen, hugs her and says "it's ok, I'm here."

Chen tries to look around then weakly asks "where's Miss Mima? She protected me, but she got hurt."

Ran turns to face Mima and sees Ail doing the exact same thing for the spirit as he did for Chen.

The shikigami is about to get up and help, but Ail raises his hand and says "if I use my barrier around my hand, I can give more energy and stay safe, see?"

Ran looks at the energy heading to Mima, which is a little brighter now, while Ail looks at Chen and asks "does she need some more?"

Ran shakes her head softly, and then smiles and says "she'll be alright, thanks."

* * *

At the Hourai Clinic, Chen has been treated and properly bandaged, as well as Mima, though in her case, being a spirit, it had to be Reimu and Ail who did most of the healing for her.

Ran and Yukari watch over Chen. The gap youkai is a bit hurt over seeing the young shikigami lying on a bed like that and talking so calmly and peacefully.

Reimu and Ail are tending to Mima who immediately fell asleep just after waking up and asking for Chen.

Eirin and Keine are lecturing Mokou and Kaguya so fiercely even Ail, for a second, thinks he is looking at two Shikieikis.

Eirin and Keine are furiously saying "and you almost burned half he forest down!" "And you killed so many animals!" "And look what happened to the cat and the spirit!" "When are you going to act like ladies?" "Why do you insist on this pointless fighting!?"

For one second Mokou and Kaguya look at each other by the corner of their eyes, and then both Keine and Eirin exclaim at the same time "**are you listening to me, young lady!?**"

Ail gets closer while glaring at the two and looking very disappointed as well, then Keine and Eirin say "**just because you are immortal, doesn't mean everything around you is!**"

The boy's eyes open widely then gets closer and asks "so they are immortal? How is that possible?"

The Lunarian pharmacist looks at the surprised boy and says "they drank the Hourai Elixir, a substance that makes the drinker immortal."

Ail smiles such an evil smile his eyes shine as he stares directly into Mokou's and Kaguya's eyes, and says "so I _really_ could have blasted them 100 times over after all!?"

Both immortals tremble when they look at Ail and are reminded of Reimu with the face he's making.

Both hug each other and tremble, and then Mokou shouts "I'm so sorry!"

Kaguya then adds "we'll be more careful!"

He glares at them for a few seconds then says "hmph! Just be more careful next time!"

He turns around and heads back to where Chen and Mima are. Realizing what they're doing, Kaguya and Mokou get away from each other; feeling almost repulsed.

They are just about to start arguing again however they notice Reimu giving them the evil eye from the beds, and so they both hug each other once more in fear.

Keine and Eirin agree they've had enough and let them go.

* * *

Just as Keine and Mokou leave, Eirin approaches Chen's bed to examine her, while Yukari heads to Mima's bed.

The evil spirit has just woken up, so the blonde takes the chance and says "thank you for taking care of Chen for us."

Ran, who is still with the nekomata, bows her head and says "yes; thank you very much, Miss Mima."

Mima perks up, floats off the bed and remains floating just above the floor on her ghostly tail when she says "no need to thank me. I'll gladly take care of Chen when you neglect her again."

Reimu gets a bit mad and says "hey, hey! You want to go back to your room?"

Mima gets scared, but forces a smile, shakes her head, and then Ail says "well, you seem to have made a full recovery."

The evil spirit looks around and sounding disappointed she asks "and where is the hunk?"

Reimu smiles and says "he and Suika were a little tired, so I left them at the shrine."

The shrine maiden notices a bit of sadness on Mima, so she adds "he wanted to come, really, but he and Suika were too messed up after that battle they had. We didn't need him as extra luggage."

Mima smiles again and giggles. Tewi enters and gets close to the spirit, and then looking ashamed says "thanks for saving me."

Once again Mima smiles, then pats her on the head and says "anytime."

Eirin adds "if Tewi hadn't told us what had happened, we would have never found you so quickly, but..."

Everyone in the room feel something strange in the atmosphere, and then Yukari, looking quite dangerous, asks "Ran, Ail, that barrier you came across; did it have color, shape, something?"

The boy answers "nothing... All I can say of it is that it was like a dome, that I couldn't do anything to it, I couldn't use my barriers inside it, open a gap or break it with danmaku, which makes me add to the question; do stray fireballs guide themselves like that into invisible barriers?"

Reimu lightly shakes her head and says "I think Agava is back. Not just that, but she's learned to use barriers. As to how she guided that fireball, I haven't a clue."

Yukari then says "by using its shadow, that's how. What I don't understand is why did she target our Chen like that?"

The gap youkai looks at Ail and smiles while saying "well one thing is certain. Chen unlocked an interesting power from within you, Mister Ail. Those healing exploding balls really did the trick."

Reimu adds "that was a bit reckless, though. You arms were burned badly."

Ail and Ran smile then say "**it's nothing.**"

Eirin grabs Ail, and Reisen grabs Ran, then as if synchronized, they bandage their burned right arms in just seconds.

The boy and vixen look at their arms, and then Ran asks "is this really necessary?"

* * *

Yukari opens a gap that leads to her home, and so after saying goodbye, Ran carries Chen in, then Yukari leaves as well.

Reimu, Mima, and Ail use one of the boy's own gaps to head to the Hakurei Shrine, where Kyo and Suika greet them, and are quite happy to see Mima was well. They all go to sleep afterward.

It is late noon and the youkai are complaining that it should be night. Reimu recognized the scene and without a second to spare she flies to the direction of the village, however she is too late, and watches as Kyo is cut to the death, and Ail gets impaled right before her eyes.

Again Reimu springs up on her futon and then looks around, covered in sweat, panting and gasping for air before muttering "that dream again."

It is early morning and she can already hear Mima and Kyo talking just outside her door.

"Come on, hunk, we have to tell her," insists Mima from the door.

Kyo sighs and says "alright. Just don't be too blunt about it."

Mima softly knocks on the door then Reimu says "I'm awake. What's the matter?"

The spirit enters and says "Reimu... err..." Reimu tries to hide her fear and asks "where's Ail?"

Mima then breathes deeply and says "he's with Alice at Marisa's house. There's a strange barrier there that's not letting them get inside."

* * *

At the Forest of Magic, Reimu spots Alice and Ail looking bit frustrated in front of Marisa's house, where the boy keeps shooting his danmaku at the open door, yet the shots keep blowing up long before they enter the house.

Reimu lands and Alice says "Marisa is stuck inside!"

The shrine maiden growls and grits her teeth, and then says "I've had enough of this!"

She points her gohei at the barrier blocking the entrance, then four violet charms fly from her pockets and fly to the barrier, making an opening; just like that.

Ail and Alice look at Reimu amazed, but then the girl, sounding incredibly angry, says "just _get inside already!_"

When they entered Marisa's house it is like entering a new world. The floors are as black as a moonless night, the lamps on the walls barely light anything; giving off an eerie blue tone instead.

Alice is about to go in deeper, but Ail grabs her and Reimu then flies up just as many dirty white thorns spring from the ground, some with dried up blood on them already. They all hope it's not Marisa's.

Ail lets them go as soon as they start to fly too then Alice thanks him.

Reimu, still looking quite angry, says "let's be careful as we move on."

As they fly through the corridors Alice comments "hey, don't you think these walls are getting too narrow?"

At that very moment, from the right walls, countless white spikes spring toward them.

Ail manages to make a barrier just in time as all three are forcefully pushed back to the other wall, and just then the spikes that he manages to block break off and shattered to pieces.

Alice and Reimu gulp loudly as sweat covers their pale-as-ghosts faces. Ail holds his head and almost falls down, but recovers quickly and says "I'm ok; just wasn't expecting that impact."

The blonde puppeteer looks up and notices an opening, and then says "up there! Hurry!"

When all three fly up they find themselves at the attic, and in there is Marisa looking out the window.

Her hat is on the ground next to a futon and a candle. When Alice makes her move to get closer, Reimu grabs her shoulder and pulls her back.

The puppeteer gets mad and shouts "what's the big idea!?"

The shrine maiden quietly points at her long-time friend, and when Marisa turns around she reveals her skin is black and her eyes are dark blue.

"Welcome" says the witch with Agava's tone of voice warped with her own.

Reimu growls and says "get! OUT! of my friend _this instant!_"

Agava cackles and says "get out of here? No, I don't think so. As long as I'm in here you can't hurt me. You can't hurt your dear friend, can you?"

The shrine maiden smiles and says "heh, you don't seem to know Marisa too well, don't you?"

Agava suddenly holds her head and yells as though in pain, then Marisa, in her own tone of voice says "Reimu, g-get her out of me!"

Without wasting another second Reimu fires 4 yellow charms that stick on Marisa's limbs, then takes a red and yellow charm and sticks it on her friend's forehead.

She starts to scream as Agava is forced outside of Marisa's body, and then Alice pulls on some strings that rest around her and out come two dolls that are holding on to lances, and then the girl shouts "Shanghai, Hourai, now!"

Both dolls quickly go and stab Agava and pin her against the wall, then the dark woman shouts "how could you do that to your own friend!?"

Reimu walks toward Agava and says "I would worry more about myself if I were you!"

Marisa stands strong right behind the shrine maiden, firmly holding her Hakkero and looking quite angry at Agava, but the dark shadow fiend merely smiles and says "fine... you win this round shrine maiden."

She then she turns into a shadow and vanishes seemingly through the walls, but before she leaves Reimu notices in her left eye the red spirit that had possessed Ail before.

* * *

After Agava's defeat, Marisa's house gets restored to its original state, and Ail stands quietly by the attic's exit while just looking around.

Marisa holds her aching head while saying "thanks Reimu, Alice; you too Ail."

He just smiles and waves quietly. Marisa looks at her maiden friend and says "Reimu, calm down. You'll get her next time, ze."

The anxious shrine maiden looks at the witch and says "yeah... I know." She then glances at Ail and says "Marisa..." but can't speak up.

She then looks back at Marisa, who is staring back at her quite curiously, and says "I'm going to need your help."

The blonde looks at her friend even more confused and says "well of course, I wouldn't let you have all the-"

Reimu raises her hand then turns to Ail and says "hey Ail, I'm sorry, but could you please leave? We need to have a girl talk here."

The boy smiles and bows his head then climbs down the ladder, and promptly after he does he exclaims "oh my goodness; what a _mess!_ You could lose a whale in here!"

Marisa runs to the attic's exit and shouts "hey shut up, and don't touch anything, you hear!? That's **_MERCHANDISE!_**"

Ail shouts back and says "ok, ok, sorry, hahaha. I'll just head back to the shrine."

Reimu watches as he leaves to the shrine, flying contently and seemingly without a care.

* * *

Back at the shrine Sunny, Luna and Star are on one of the trees in front of the shrine again and are deciding what to do with Kyo who is sweeping leaves in front of the donation box.

"I know" says Star, "let's make a reflection of him and mess around with it a bit, but make sure he sees it clearly."

Sunny, sounding a bit annoyed says "well of course. Who do you think you're talking to?"

Luna then says "but what if Reimu finds us?"

Star says "neither she nor that boy are around here, so we're safe."

All three giggle, then shortly after Kyo notices he's looking at himself.

"A mirror?" he asks himself while the image of himself starts posing; flexing his muscles.

Kyo smiles and says "heh, wow, I really _am_ good looking."

Suddenly the mirror him grows a large belly that bounces as he moves around. Kyo gets into a state of complete shock, and then suddenly drops on the ground to do sit-ups.

The fairies laugh hard, enjoying Kyo's reaction, and then from behind them, Ail sweetly says "well, well, what do we have here?"

Sunny and Luna then realize Star is long gone. Ail grabs them before they can fly away and says "didn't I tell you that if I caught you playing pranks on people again I would punish you?"

Both fairies tremble as Ail smiles darkly at them, and then knocks their heads together, knocking them both out.

Ail flies down with the knocked out fairies on his hands and says "Kyo, relax. These little ones were just tricking you!"

Still doing his sit-ups, Kyo shouts "no way; I'm **NOT** getting fat, you hear!?"

Ail sighs and sits the two fairies under the tree then shoots a laser to a random bush, blasting Star Sapphire out from hiding and singing her little butt in the process.

He looks at her angrily and says "you really are a lousy friend. You should have told them I was coming."

Star giggles while rubbing the back of her head and butt, then after getting her friends back from Ail, the boy heads to the shrine's back, leaving Kyo to his workout.

Back at Marisa's house, the three girls have a most serious look on their faces. Alice and Marisa look at Reimu, but the shrine maiden only looks back angrily and says "I won't give them the choice, and I am going to need your help... please."

Almost ready to cry Marisa nods, then Alice also nods; though hesitates a bit; then looks back at Marisa and notices she is crying, so she sends Shanghai to her with a piece of cloth.

* * *

To be continued...

Characters, scenario and Spell Cards belong to ZUN -Team Shanghai Alice-

Ail and Kyo were created by Willie G.R.

"Blast Sign - Expansion that Soothes" spell card was created by Willie G.R. (Any similarities are strictly coincidental). Some assistance by snapshot2010.

JUL 5 2009

Written by

Willie G.R.

**-Edited on JUL 10 by Willie G.R.-**


	14. Chapter 11

One week has passed after the incident with Chen and Mima at the Bamboo Forest of the Lost, and Marisa's possession by Agava.

Reimu has been acting very cold toward Ail and Kyo; they've been feeling so uncomfortable around her they have been sleeping outside the shrine, or just elsewhere.

Marisa has been doing her best to avoid them as well, but unlike Reimu she can't act cold toward them when she does get in contact with them.

Mima's been getting saddened as well by Kyo's and Ail's absence, however Reimu doesn't really care; or at least acts like it. However, all is not so bad.

Kyo has become loved at the village ever since he and Suika scared away a small group of youkai that were terrorizing them.

Lily White has grown attached to Ail, and follows him every chance she gets, which makes him very happy every time she does. He's also been visiting the Scarlet Devil Mansion, or SDM as he's learned to call it by now, quite frequently, however he still felt very sad because of Reimu's sudden change.

Many thoughts pass through his mind, including the possibility that he and Kyo may have overstayed their welcome.

* * *

At the Scarlet Devil Mansion the day begins as normal. Sakuya wakes up to a bright and beautiful sunny day and she goes about her daily routine of eating, cleaning, cooking, scolding slackers, and washing clothes.

It is noon, and the sun is up high and shining brightly. Flandre is sleeping peacefully when her door quietly opens on its own.

She starts to float in the air while still asleep, and even when her blanket falls off as she continues to float around she continues snoring soundly.

By now she is reaching the front doors which open up on their own as she gets close to them.

Flandre yawns and smacks her lips, then opens her eyes and realizes she was outside, and then asks "Huh? I'm... flying?"

Suddenly she hears a silent chuckle and realizes she's outside in the early noon sun, and so she panics. "Wah-? Hey, I can't move! Aaah!"

Meiling hears her shriek and pops from the gate shouting "little sister? Hey, it's dangerous for..."

Before she finishes her sentence she grabs her throat and looks like she's choking, and when Flandre notices this she starts shouting as loud as she can "Meiling... Sakuya, onee-chan, HEEEELP!"

From inside Sakuya hears the scream and runs as fast as she can after stopping time around her.

Now Flandre is floating upward and she panics; she tries to break free but her arm starts twisting backward before an ominous voice says "don't worry, it'll all be over quickly!"

Flandre screams again and Sakuya comes out of the mansion, and she immediately stops time again and flies toward Flandre, but there is an invisible barrier that prevents her from going further, and then something strikes her and sends her down to the ground next to the unconscious Meiling.

The voice chuckles and says "there's nobody that can save you now sweetheart. Just accept your fate."

The vampire starts to move upward faster and her skin begins to burn as she gets closer to the sun's rays.

Flandre starts to cry, the voice cackles, and then she feels as if she is being lunged forward.

She starts to thrash about in her attempt to break free, knowing what's going to happen now, but the voice stops laughing and Flandre stops burning.

Ail arrives just in time to use himself as a shield from the sun. He looks angry, and just under him an even angrier Reimu shoots various charms that break the barrier and gives the boy the chance to get Flandre.

"Big brother" exclaims the blonde as Ail takes her back down. He smiles at her while he continues to shield her from the sun.

Reimu keeps firing countless charms toward the sky and reveals Agava, who is using some sort of trick to turn invisible.

The dark woman grins at Reimu, who angrily asks "why do you want to kill us!?"

Agava cackles and makes both Ail; who let go of Flandre inside the mansion, and Reimu; who looks like she is about to explode with anger; snarl back at her.

She then says "I am **_trying_** to make myself stronger, but you keep getting in the way. See, if I can kill at _least_ one innocent soul and absorb it, I can become 100 times stronger... but..."

Agava looks at Ail, smiles and then sinisterly says "I don't think that's gonna be a problem anymore."

She cackles madly and turns into a shadow, then runs away at incredible speeds.

* * *

Reimu looks around and sees Ail tending to Sakuya and Meiling. He notices her and tries to look into her eyes, but she turns around before he can make contact and says "take care of things here... I..." and then she just leaves.

Ail feels a slight pain in his heart when she just turns around like that, but turns to help Sakuya and Meiling, who to his relief are unharmed.

The maid puts Flandre to sleep with Remilia, and then goes immediately back outside. Meanwhile, Ail sits at the right side of the gate, and Meiling stands to the left; she curiously asks "what's the matter, Ail?"

The boy raises his head and looks at Meiling, then says "I think Reimu's really mad at me and Kyo. Problem is, she won't tell us what it is we did."

The kind guard changes her expression to anger when saying "I think it's this Agava creature. She has been breaking the laws of Gensokyo. Reimu really got mad when she tried to kill the children of the village."

Ail springs up and asks "WHAT!? When did that happen!?"

Sakuya comes out of the mansion and says "just yesterday. She waited until it was late night. Kamishirasawa noticed what was going on and hid the village just in time. Reimu just happened to be passing by when all of that happened, and forced Agava away."

Ail looks confused and asks "that late at night?"

The chief maid bites her bottom lip and says "she, err... won't say what she was doing, but it's not like we should care. The important thing is that she was able to help Keine save the village children."

Ail winds down and says "you're right. Well, I better get going now. Oh; is Flan going to be alright?"

Sakuya bows and says "don't worry. The burns weren't that serious. She is fine."

Ail nods then flies away, waving at Sakuya and Meiling as he leaves.

While in the air, many thoughts cross his mind. He wonders how he can help stop Agava and beat those invisible barriers of her, and also how fast she's become now. Just then, his train of thought it put to a stop by Marisa, who calls "Oi~; Ail."

The boy turns around and greets her by asking "Marisa; what is it?"

The witch smiles and says "Reimu's looking for you, ze."

* * *

At the shrine, Ail stays outside while looking at the pink-colored leaves while he thinks. From inside the shrine Reimu calls him, so he takes a deep breath and heads to the porch.

He kneels by the entrance and asks "yes? What is it, Miss Reimu?"

The shrine maiden, looking a bit more normal asks "aren't you coming in?"

Ail shakes his head and hesitantly says "no."

Mima smiles from inside, but doesn't move from her spot beside Reimu.

The girl then says "suit yourself. Look I need you to tell me something. That spirit that possessed you; did it look different somehow? Anything you can recall about it?"

Ail lifts his sight to meet Reimu's, who quickly turns her eyes away, then he says "it was bright red and had an unusually long tail."

Reimu closes her eyes then Ail adds "of course, that's it isn't it? _She_ has it now, doesn't she?"

Without looking at him, the shrine maiden says "good intuition. That is why _it_ suddenly got these many new abilities. I just wanted to confirm it."

She quiets down and then Ail tries to ask "Reimu, did Kyo and I do-"

"That is all. You may go if you want." She skillfully interrupts him so she doesn't have to explain herself.

Ail feels anger, but all he can do is turn around and fly away. Mima gets in front of Reimu and asks "Reimu, what did they do? Why are you so mad at them?"

The black haired girl looks away and says "I'm not mad at them. You're imagining things."

The spirit tries to look into Reimu's eyes over and over, but Reimu grabs her gohei and hits Mima hard on the head.

Naturally, the evil spirit gets really mad and shouts "HEY! What was THAT for!?"

Reimu places a charm on Mima's head to paralyze her, and then says "I'm sorry, but you must go back to your room now."

When Reimu takes the charm off Mima's head, the woman realizes she's back inside her small prison-room.

She bangs on the door with her fists; which now has four charms on the arch and one on the knob; and shouts "Reimu, you're making a big mistake. Don't do it!"

From the other side of the door Reimu says "this is why I have to lock you in here again; you just don't understand. Just stay there and I'll let you out when you calm down."

Reimu leaves the small corridor under the storehouse of the shrine and heads back to the now quiet and empty living room.

Inside the small room Mima grabs her staff and strikes the charms hard with it while repeating "Reimu, you can't do it! You have to let us help you! Let us HELP YOU!"

* * *

Back at the village Kyo is helping Mystia with some supplies for her grilled lamprey stand, and just as she finishes loading the supplies she turns to her helper and says "thanks very much. You know I used to really dislike humans so much, but you and Ail sure are unique humans. I really like you two."

She notices Kyo is distracted and says "hey, err... lately you've been in the village a whole lot. Did something happen? Why aren't you and Ail at the shrine with the assassin maiden?"

The boy snaps out of it and says "oh sorry, hehe. It's probably nothing. Reimu's just been really edgy lately, so we're just giving her some space."

Mystia looks a bit confused, but nods saying "ooh."

Moments later Kyo passes by Keine's school; and he hears Marisa and Alice inside insisting to Keine about something.

He gets closer and hides under a window so as not to be detected, while inside Keine looks really upset when saying "NO! I won't do it!"

Alice then says "come on! If we don't do it they will die. Marisa, help me here!"

The black and white witch sits by one of the desks, covering her eyes with her hat as she says "I really don't want to force them, but..." She lifts her sight; her eyes look a bit glassy as she shouts "we HAVE to make those two leave Gensokyo now, or else they will die. Reimu's premonitions at too accurate; we can't ignore this!"

Outside the school Kyo's eyes fill with so much sadness; he knows what they are talking about.

Hurt and confused, he stays under the window for a little longer until Keine says "look, I'll think about it, but don't count on me if you're going to kick them out against their will."

The muscled gets up and slowly walks away, getting out of the village and heading nowhere.

* * *

Ail is at the river at the Youkai Forest and is accompanied by Hina and Nitori.

The misfortune goddess is in the middle of the river happily spinning while saying "misfortune, come to me and go to the gods; but not before strengthening me!"

Nitori is tweaking some machine she's made. It has two holes; one points upward and the other is behind the machine.

"Can I help you with that, Nitori?" asks Ail, then the kappa smiles and nods.

The boy smiles back and asks "err, what exactly is this?"

The happy girl twirls her wrench around with one hand, and dramatically poses while saying "I'm so glad you asked! This is my latest invention, the Curse-be-Gone converter machine!"

When she finishes her pose, she has a wrench on her left hand and a screwdriver on her right hand while bright lights shine behind her.

Both Ail and Hina are now wearing sunglasses, and just as the lights behind Nitori fade they take the sunglasses off and pocket them, then Hina continues to spin in place.

Ail gets close to the machine and inspects it before asking "and what does it do?"

Nitori proudly says "this baby will absorb curses and misfortunes and transform them into good fortune and good luck. And as an added bonus, it will purify the air around here, making it even cleaner."

Ail claps and says "that's impressive... ah I see something's missing."

"Is that so~?" asks a little blob of darkness in the sky.

Nitori then says "and _THAT'S_ what I can't figure out..."

Ail then says "ah I see. All you need to do is put this cable here, then turns this here, place this tube here in order to make the flux of energy go where the curses will be processed, and then we add some more strings here, a wire there and there..."

Suddenly the machine starts absorbing the curses and yet it starts spewing a brown gas that smelled simply horrible.

He places his shirt around his mouth and nose and says "eww, why does it smell so horrible?"

Nitori struggles to turn it off while saying "ugh! I think it still needs some work. Yuck."

When they manage to turn off the machine they both notice Hina's face is green, her eyes are spinning and all while she is being carried away by the river.

Nitori goes after her shouting "wait, where are you going!?"

Ail then looks around himself and feels lonely, like when he was in the outside world.

He spots Aya and Momiji and in his attempt to fight the loneliness he calls "hey, Aya, Momiji, how are you?"

Both act very nervous when they see him and Aya says "err, Ail how are you? We are just fine... Look we'd love to stay and chat but, uum..."

Momiji then says "we, umm, got an important meeting with the boss, so... yeah."

The crow girl nods and says "yeah, that's it! Sorry, see you later;" and then they both leave.

* * *

Ail has gotten himself in a little deeper into the forest and decides to sit under a tree for a bit.

He looks terribly sad. For the first time he is feeling as lonely and sad in Gensokyo as he did back outside.

He is trying to think what could be the reason for all this; Reimu, Marisa, and now Aya and Momiji. He wondered if even Sanae would try to avoid him as well.

Just then a shadow blocks the late noon sun from him, and to his surprise, when he looks up it's Sanae herself smiling back at him. They share a quick greeting before she gets comfortable.

"...so you think you did something bad, but you don't know what it is?" asks Sanae while sitting next to Ail under the tree.

The boy nods then says "I'm not sure what's going on. If there's one thing I don't like it's when friends get mad at me and I don't even know why."

The girl thinks for a bit, gets up and smiling, and then she offers Ail a hand.

He looks back at her and can't help but smile back and accept her offer, and Once up she tells him "the only thing you can do now is confront them and tell them just how you feel about all this. I understand they are scary, but they can be reasonable."

Ail thinks about it for a second and says "yeah... you're so right. That's what I'll do."

The boy smiles again as his heart fills with so much hope. Sanae smiles with him while he says "thank you very much Miss Sanae! I'll go do that right now!"

He hugs Sanae, which surprises her a lot, and then he flies away to the Hakurei shrine. Sanae smiles again and leaves to her own shrine.

* * *

At the Hakurei Shrine, Ail calls out "Reimu, are you there!? I want to talk to you!"

The shrine maiden comes out of the living quarters saying "good, because I want to talk to you too."

The boy looks confused for a moment, but shakes it off and asks "what's been going on around here? You've been avoiding Kyo and me for a whole week, and I want to know; did we do something wrong? Did we-?"

Reimu raises her hand and softly, she says "I want you and Kyo to leave Gensokyo. Go back home where you belong."

Ail opens his eyes widely, his stare goes blank and he chuckles.

"Stop laughing" commands Reimu. "I'm not kidding. I want you to go back to your home, your _real_ home this instant!"

Reimu tries her best to hide her eyes but Ail is now looking straight at her; looking back very seriously.

Ail says "Kyo and I swore that we-" "Just shut up!" shouts Reimu again. "I know you mean well, and I know you want to help, but this thing, this monster is too dangerous. This is Gensokyo business, and you and Kyo do **_not_** belong here. You were brought here by mistake and you can fix that mistake. Just go home, forget about Gensokyo, live on outside in your own homes."

Ail shouts "Gensokyo _IS MY HOME_!"

Reimu shouts back "_NO IT IS NOT!_ I am sorry, but if you won't go peacefully..."

Marisa arrives on her broom, holding her Hakkero in her hands and pointing it at Ail; and hiding her eyes under the brim of her hat.

Alice then comes out of the shrine with 5 dolls ready and armed with large lances, looking on with cold determination while Reimu continues saying "...then we'll have to get you out by force."

Ail is scared. He know they mean business. He looks around and in a menacing tone asks "where's Mima?"

Reimu looks straight at him and says "don't concern yourself with her. Just make your choice. Get out peacefully, or we'll get you out by force."

Ail looks into Reimu's eyes for a moment, and then he smiles. Reimu tries to look away, but he already saw what he needed to see.

Reimu grabs her head and shouts "shut up! Stop that right now!"

The boy turns around and, with a smile on his face he softly says "fine, I'm leaving just as soon as I find Kyo."

He flies up, but just before leaving he says "thank you all for everything. I am sure Kyo will agree when I say you are all great friends. We will miss you very much. Say goodbye to the others for me, alright Reimu."

The shrine maiden is about to start crying when she softly says "just go already."

Without turning to face them Ail lifts his right hand and gestures a farewell as he flies farther away.

* * *

At the Garden of the Sun, next to countless flowers of different varieties, Kyo looks skyward with a gloomy expression on his face.

It's getting dark when Ail arrives and lands just behind his friend and says "you know, you increased your energy so much it was very easy to find you now."

After shifting his gaze toward the flowers the saddened muscled boy says "they want us out of here."

Anilan nods and responds "I know... Reimu and the others made that perfectly clear."

Kyo gasps and turns around to see Ail smiling even though a tear is falling down his cheek.

Kaizo looks down and says "I was hoping to find you first. I'm sorry you had to find out like that."

Still smiling Ail says "come on my friend. It is long time we headed home."

Kyo smiles as Ail points his hand away and opens a gap just behind him, but the gap closes on its own.

"What just happen?" asks Ail with a raised eyebrow.

Kyo looks around suspiciously when Ail says "I can't use my powers... I can't fly. What's going on?"

A disembodied cackle echoes all around them, and then Ail exclaims "Agava!"

Kyo unleashes the energy around his arms; which is now red, while Agava, still invisible says "don't bother; you're inside one of my barriers."

Ail shouts at her "where are you!? What do you want!?"

The evil woman chuckles and says "goodbye;" then a black square opens up just under their feet.

Kyo and Ail scream as they fall down, and then everything falls silent after the sound of bodies being impaled echoes all over the flowery fields.

Agava cackles then shouts "**I DID IT!** I can finally kill that _SHRINE MAIDEN_ **AND** get the _HELL_ OUT OF HERE! Look out humans, here comes you little black doom again, HAHAHAHA~!"

The floor turns back to normal, as if nothing ever happened, and so the sun sets ominously as dark clouds take its place just as everything becomes silent.

* * *

Back at the Hakurei shrine Marisa is so depressed she doesn't even want to touch her tea or cookies.

Reimu looks at her and says "cheer up. We saved their lives. That vision is gone now, so don't worry about it."

Alice looks a bit worried at the shrine maiden and says "Reimu, what happened to you? Why were you shouting at him like that, when he wasn't even talking?"

Reimu looks a little annoyed at Alice and says "he was talking to me through his mind. Yukari must have taught him to do that."

Marisa, her voice sounding a bit cracked, asks "and exactly what did he tell you?"

For a moment it looks like Reimu is about to say, but suddenly looks around herself; looking as though she just forgot something very important.

Marisa lifts her sights and asks "yo, Reimu? What's wrong?"

Reimu looks back at Marisa and says "I... can't remember what he said at all."

Marisa scoffs and says "look, if you don't want to tell it's fine, but don't try to trick me like that."

Reimu yells back "I'm serious, I'm not kidding. I can't remember what he said!"

The shrine maiden looks around and says "well, the important thing is they are now safe... I can't feel either of them anymore, so they must be home by now."

The black and white witch looks back at her maiden friend and asks "and what about Mima? You gonna leave 'er there?"

Reimu starts to sound more casual now when saying "well maybe I'll let her out later; much later; after she's calmed down."

* * *

At the Former Hellfires Agava boldly floats just above the lava while just looking around. Okuu sees her and goes to confront her.

"Hey you! Who are you? What are you doing here?"

Agava stares directly at the overpowered hell crow and hands her a torn, blood-covered piece of violet cloth, and a red button shirt, and then says "give these to the shrine maiden in red and white."

Before Okuu can react, she starts expanding a massive barrier around herself and pushes the hell raven back to the palace.

The barrier keeps pushing back, sending Okuu through the doors of the palace and reaching Satori and Koishi quickly and now pushes them back as well.

Orin tries with all her might to push back, but is overpowered with ease, and the barrier keeps expanding all the way to the outside, kicking every single youkai, demon and beings out of the underground. The opening to the cave is now impenetrable.

While recovering Orin angrily asks "Okuu, what did you do now!?"

The bird girl looks blankly at her kasha friend and says "it wasn't me, honest. It was the shadow lady."

Satori rubs her head as she gets up from the ground, and says "Orin, let's look for that shrine maiden. Okuu, give me those."

She hands the cloth and shirt to her master while saying "they smell just like Ail."

Satori snarls as she looks at the items in her hands and says "Orin, you're faster. You go on ahead. Koishi, Okuu, come."

"Right behind you sis" says Koishi. "Sure thing master" adds Okuu.

Yuugi calmly looks at the entrance to the cave then casually says "I'll go get Suika and break this open. Be back in a jiffy."

Parsee looks angrily at the oni and says "Well hurry _up_! I don't want to be here any longer; it's too creepy."

The jealousy blonde winds down and crosses her arms while saying "honestly, she can keep so calm at a time like this... I'm so jealous!"

She turn turns around and sees Yamame and Kisume hanging from some tree branches and laughing, then says "tck! Even those two. Bah, I'll just sit here then."

She sits down next to the entrance alongside the many other youkai that wait for the cave to open.

Back at the Former Hellfires, the barrier has pushed back most of the lava, and Agava easily carries the same crystal that had imprisoned her before back to the top, and then says "wow, these two souls are just amazing! Added to your acquired abilities, you little red spirit, my power is triple from what it used to be. Now I'll just break this blasted crystal and add my own powers to all of this. With this I'll destroy that shrine maiden and that blasted barrier and continue my noble quest of ridding this entire world of the humans and their blinding light!"

Using Kyo's energy she punches the crystal, shattering it into pieces with ease, and then absorbs her enormous powers back into herself, and laughs manically as she does.

* * *

That late at night, at the Hakurei Shrine Reimu sits on the porch as she is unable to sleep, and just gazes at the stars and remembers just how rowdy and noisy the shrine used to be just a few days before.

Now the old peace and quiet returns, and even though it is welcome, it feels alien.

Marisa is sleeping inside the living room when she suddenly jumps up shouting "REIMU!"

The scream startles the shrine maiden, who angrily shouts "WHAT!?"

Just then Orin arrives to the shrine and calls "sis! We need you!"

Reimu facepalms hard and while still holding on to her forehead she says "let me guess, the bird did something really stupid again."

Orin hands her the piece of cloth and the red shirt. After the maiden stares at them both she asks "what is this? Some kind of riddle?"

From the left side of the shrine Koishi, Okuu and Satori can be seen landing a little roughly, and then the purple haired girl says "some woman in dark clothing gave that to Okuu just before placing an enormous barrier around that kicked everyone out of the underground."

Marisa gets up with a gasp and asks "Reimu... those wouldn't be...?"

The shrine maiden bares her teeth while growling softly. A tear falls from her cheek when Satori says "don't blame yourself. You tried to save them, but you can't expect to win against fate all the time Reimu. However, now it's not the time either."

Suddenly they all hold their chests and Reimu says "she went to get the rest of her powers."

Marisa is already set to go and nods at Reimu, who nods back and says "it's time to end this for good."

* * *

After arriving at the cave entrance Reimu easily breaks open a hole on the barrier with just one charm.

Marisa tells her "Reimu, I know you're mad but you better calm down. You'll end up burning yourself up."

The girl breathes deeply, exhales loudly, and then says "I know; but you're here with me. We can stop her together. Come on."

Reimu smiles at Marisa, who smiles back, then they head inside, along with the many inhabitants of the underground.

In less than 15 minutes of flight, Reimu and Marisa reach the Former Hell Fires and find the powered up Agava opening gaps all around her.

"Miss Shrine Maiden, and little Miss Witch. Welcome~" she says sounding almost excited.

She opens up a gap in front of Reimu and shows her Ran and Chen crying over Yukari's blood-stained body.

"Yukari!" shouts Reimu, trying to reach inside the gap, but Agava closes it and says "you like? It's my latest work. I call it 'Sweet Red Melancholy' by... well, ME! A-HAHAHAHA!"

The shrine maiden's face turns red with anger and just when she is about to challenge Agava she notices Kyo's energy around her arms.

Marisa looks on and says "that's... Kyo's..."

The dark woman smiles and says "your friends' souls were so delicious sweetheart; so powerful too. I'm opening gaps with Ail's powers alone."

Reimu pulls out a spell card. Agava cackles and says "you fool, I'm FAR beyond your silly little spell card rules and games."

Reimu doesn't reply and just declares her spell as loud as she can "FANTASY HEAVEN!" She looks back at Marisa and says "stand back!"

Seven different colored Yin-Yang orbs surround Reimu and spin around while releasing countless charms all around, all moving toward Agava.

The shadow woman smirks and shoots large black energy orbs through one of the gaps and opens another directly in front of her target, however the black orbs simply goes through the girl as if nothing is there.

Agava panics and starts shooting many more of those orbs, but they all go through the girl.

Reimu simply glares at Agava and says "you will pay for all that you have done. _Nobody_ breaks the laws of Gensokyo; which were placed on this land with heavy sacrifices; and gets away with it. I will finish with you here and never again will Gensokyo or the outside world have to suffer your presence."

Agava gets hit by one of the charms and she already feels her power fading away.

Desperate, she opens a dark gap and shoots various dark bullets of pure energy, then another dark gap opens next to Marisa, who has no chance to escape in time and gets blown up by the bullets.

Just as the witch begins to fall down to the lava, Reimu cancels the spell and chases after her friend, while Agava opens another dark gap and gets inside o fit.

Reimu grabs Marisa and immediately flies up, back to Satori's mansion with the sour taste of failure cursing her.

* * *

Back outside, Agava opens a dark gap to the Hakurei shrine and immediately fires dark lightning at the gate, hoping to destroy the barrier, however the attack merely bounces back.

"What the hell...? Still not enough power?"

The dark woman starts to hyperventilate then lets out a ground-shaking roar. Keine immediately hides the village, and then heads directly to the bamboo forest.

The many youkai around the area hide from the overwhelming power, and the entire SDM gets on edge and all remain on high alert in case something comes.

Yuka, Wriggle and Medicine hide around the flowers; the flower master hiding behind the immense blue flower that Ail had revived before.

Ran and Chen both get their guard up an prepare to protect the wounded Yukari with their lives.

The entire Youkai Mountain trembles while the tengu and the kappa adopt a, offensive state.

Alice locks her door, Rinnosuke closes his shop; Gensokyo, the once beautiful paradise is now turning into a dark and fearful world, all thanks to one single being capable of breaking the laws of that world, and who isn't afraid to do so either.

Agava lets out various curses when she suddenly stops and says to herself "only one thing left to do." She then turns into a shadow and flies away.

* * *

Reimu flies out of the cave holding Marisa bridal style and telling her that everything will be alright. She heads directly to Eirin's clinic.

Marisa is badly injured, however Eirin doesn't need her shadow to heal her this time.

"Ail" says Reimu. "I'm sure his soul is preventing that... thing from causing any real harm... she keeps breaking the laws... If I can't stop her now-"

Eirin places her hand on Reimu's shoulder and says "Hakurei, remember that you are not alone here; regardless of your status and what you may think. You have a lot of friends and allies, whether you like to admit it or not."

The shrine maiden lets a half smile grace her face, then as the Lunarian walks to her patient, she looks at Marisa and says "it's for all of them that I have to stop this monster. There's nobody else that can stop that thing as it is now."

Eirin keeps quiet as she continues to treat Marisa, then Reisen enters the door and says "Master, Miss Reimu; the sky."

Outside looks as if the barrier is reacting to something. Reimu growls softly then says "Eirin, I'll pay you anything you ask, just take care of Marisa as best you can."

Looking a bit confused Eirin nods and says "remember, you're not alone."

Reimu remains motionless for a moment, but then leaves without answering Eirin.

* * *

Back at the Hakurei Shrine, under the storage room, Mima has calmed down and floats over her futon and acts as though she's in meditation, when suddenly the door opens up.

She opens her eyes and expectantly asks if it's Ail, but there is nothing; nobody there; the charms simply broke on their own.

Mima grabs her staff and cautiously gets out of the room, and heads back outside.

All the doors to the small underground passage are close so she wonders what could have opened that door for her.

After she gets out she notices the barrier is acting strange so she rushes to the lake behind the shrine and stars calling "Genjii! Where are you?"

The old turtle comes out from underwater then the evil spirit asks "what's going on out here?"

Genjii looks at Mima in the eyes and says "Reimu needs your help now. She will need the help of everyone that _can_ lend a hand to her. Something works on destroying Gensokyo in its entirety, and It's only a matter of time now before out home becomes a distant memory."

Mima nods then spots Reimu flying high in the sky and looking around. She quickly goes to her but the shrine maiden shouts "stop! Stay there and guard the shrine. If Agava shows her face over here I want you to use every inch of power you possess to bring her down, understand? Do _NOT_ hold back!" Mima quietly nods and slowly heads back to the shrine.

At the Netherworld's entrance, Yuyuko and Youmu make their way outside of their home.

Yuyuko looks so serious that even Youmu feels afraid to approach her, and in a very strict tone the ghost princess says "Youmu, get your swords ready. If anything happens I want you to protect yourself at all costs."

Youmu bows and says "I'll protect you to the best of my abilities Lady Yuyuko."

Yuyuko turns around and angrily stares directly into Youmu's eyes and says "my orders were to protect _yourself_. I can't die, but you can! PROTECT-YOURSELF!"

The gardener is about to start trembling as she slowly nods at Yuyuko, whose expression and mood at the moment is that of a very dangerous individual, and she also seems to be very explosive as well. Quietly and slowly the two descend and head straight to the Hakurei Shrine.

* * *

Reimu has found Agava and they are fighting fiercely around the Nameless Hill. Reimu uses her spell cards; declaring each attack, but Agava unleashes spells wildly without caring about anything around them.

The shrine maiden is getting more and more agitated, and in her rage she shouts "you're going to destroy this place if you keep this up! Stop it!"

Agava cackles and says "that's exactly what I'm hoping to do."

Reimu panics and heads straight at Agava with charms and needles ready on hand and manages to place several charms on the vile woman; and sticks quite a few needles on her as well.

The dark woman falls down hard and Reimu chasing after her to finish her, but the coward opens another gap and disappears once more.

The shrine maiden lands and kneels on the ground, and start to breathing heavily, then Sanae and Aya arrive and land next to her.

"Reimu!" exclaims Aya.

Sanae keeps looking around before asking "where's Ail and his friend Kyo? Aren't they with you?"

Reimu looks up as Aya places the girl's arm around her neck to give her a good support.

Looking both angry and depressed the Hakurei Maiden says "they're both dead. Agava killed them."

Sanae gasps loudly and covers her mouth, and then Reimu says "I have to stop that monster now before she destroys Gensokyo. It's turning to pieces; she's breaking it apart under our feet. Sanae, we don't have time to mourn them now."

Sanae gulps and takes her gohei from her waistband, and just then a dark gap opens just behind her, however Reimu quickly pushes her out of the way of a dark spike, grabs the spike and pulls Agava out, then places a sealing charm on her forehead.

The dark woman screams in pain after being pulled out of the dark gap, and is holding her head.

Without wasting a second, Reimu forcefully pulls the little red spirit out of the monstrous woman, and turns pale as it slowly drifts to the Sanzu River after a tap from Reimu's gohei.

"No... NO!" yells Agava enraged. She can no longer open dark gaps or create barriers.

Reimu smirks and says "now to finish you off."

Agava snarls and shoots various massive energy bullets to the air; all in a horrifying random pattern that make the pattern look like a curtain of smoke.

Aya, Sanae and Reimu fly just in time to escape, allowing Agava to run away in her shadow form.

Reimu looks at Aya and Sanae and asks "are you two alright?"

The girls both nod; Sanae letting out a trembling "uh-huh."

* * *

Back at the Hakurei Shrine, Yuyuko, Youmu and Mima greet Reimu the moment she, Sanae and Aya land.

"You guys" exclaims Reimu "what's going on?"

Youmu sternly says "Reimu, you are fighting something that's threatening all Gensokyo. This is not your battle alone anymore; It's all of ours. This is our home."

Yukari pops from one of her gaps, full of bandages and saying "fu, fu, fu~! Did you really think we would let you take all the glory again? I don't think so." From that same gap Ran and Chen pop through.

Momiji rushes to Aya, salutes Reimu, and says "the Scarlet Devil Mansion, the Moriya Shrine, the kappa and the tengu all have your back!"

The shrine maiden smiles and closes her eyes while saying "so this is what Eirin meant, huh? And I suppose Keine and Mokou will join in too, huh?"

From the trees Mystia sings "Eientei, the village, the immortals, the flowers, and even those with little powers~!"

From behind Mystia Rumia playfully says "it is so~!"

From the shrine gates Satori, Koishi, Orin and Okuu arrive as well; the kasha shouting "hey sis, we're going to help you kick shadow butts together now."

From the sky Tenshi and Iku descend softly, and as they do the oarfish says "just as promised, we're here to help!"

Reimu smiles once more, and then starts laughing. Her shrine is once again noisy and full. After a little while, even Yuyuko is back to her whimsical and happy self, drinking with Yukari by her side on the porch.

Those there at the shrine have decided they will stay, even if Reimu tries to kick them out, and for a time they all forget the danger they are facing, until Alice enters the shrine holding the hatless Marisa so she doesn't fall.

Reimu gets up as Marisa says "heh, a little too happy and partying even though we are facing danger, ze? Well I'll join in and make this an official party!"

The shrine maiden gives her friend a light hug, then the witch says "don't worry, I'm fine."

She then lightly pushes Reimu away and pulls out a piece of paper saying "Eirin's bill, ze."

When Reimu starts reading the numbers her eyes almost pop out of her head, but when she reads the total she laughs, and tears of relief fall down her cheeks.

She lets go of the piece of paper, then Sanae picks it up and reads it out loud.

"Umm, let's see... total for the treatment... 1 safe Gensokyo. Well Reimu, it seems you don't have a choice now. You have to pay this bill."

Reimu chuckles and lifts her thumb up, and then the Prismriver sisters arrive and play a tune for everyone present.

* * *

Everyone except Sanae, Marisa, Alice and Reimu have fallen asleep. All four are drinking tea on their knees on the porch at the back of the shrine.

Sanae sniffles a bit and says "for those two boys as well; let's save Gensokyo."

The others look at the green haired maiden, who looks back at them and says "let's beat that monstrous fiend for those two boys. Maybe they weren't from Gensokyo, but they sure did love it here."

Reimu can't find the words but then she remembers something and says "Marisa? I remember what Ail told me before... he left."

All the attention is on her now, who continues saying "he told me: _Reimu, I know why you want us out of here. I understand your feelings, but you should also understand my own. I love Gensokyo, and I'm sure Kyo does too. I will not fight you over this, but I want you to remember; fate has a funny way of doing things. You may try to go against fate, but it always finds a way to do what it must. I love kicking fate whenever I get the chance, and that's why I am who I am. Don't forget that, Miss Reimu._"

After she finishes her eyes water, and a single thin tear rolls down her cheek and drops on her tea.

Marisa looks in awe then says "he sure was one crazy kid huh; to be able to say all that in such a short time, ze."

Sanae looks at the moon and says "he was... a special one."

Alice looks at the three humans and says "I may have been human once, but I must say; you humans are just so strange sometimes."

Shanghai comes by and nods at Alice. Sanae giggles lightly while Marisa and Reimu laugh hard, then the black and white witch says "live for the moment, ze~."

* * *

To be continued...

Characters and scenarios belong to ZUN -Team Shanghai Alice-

Ail and Kyo were created by Willie G.R.

JUN 7 2009

Written by

Willie G.R.

**-Edited on JUL 12 2013 by Willie G.R.-**

* * *

**A/N:**

**I tried to make this a little less cheesy, but doing so would have changed everything too much. Let's just leave it as it is.**


	15. Chapter 12

It's morning; Keine has restored the village, and everything seems calm. The birds sing their songs, the cool morning spring breeze blows gently and makes the flowers dance in an even rhythm.

Other than the birds' songs, the rustling of leaves, and the scattering animals running around and living their daily lives, it is a very quiet morning in Gensokyo.

At the Scarlet Devil Mansion the gate is tightly locked, although Meiling is missing from her post.

The Misty Lake is eerily quiet, the Garden of the Sun, the Youkai Mountain, the Human Village; all are very calm and quiet. It's the eye of the storm and Hakurei Reimu is preparing herself to rid Gensokyo of this threat.

It is now late noon and the sun is about to set, however the youkai around Reimu insist it's supposed to be night already.

Reimu heads out and meets Agava to confront her head on, then suddenly there is a flash of light and the sound of a body being impaled, and Reimu wakes up breathing heavily, looking around and seeing all her friends still sleeping around her living room.

She gets up and heads outside the shrine as quietly as she can, where Ran and Mima look up at the sky with great interest.

Reimu looks up as well and sees the sky has a strange violet tone, as well as seeing the barrier of Gensokyo is still pulsating and resonating.

"Gensokyo itself wants that shadow gone;" says Ran as Reimu headed toward them.

The shrine maiden yawns and calmly says "don't worry. Today is the last day that Agava walks around our home. Even an overpowered rule-breaking demon like her will be overwhelmed by our combined strengths."

Mima smiles and says "we best be ready. It's still going to be tough fighting someone that can kill without any kind of restrain, _and_ has the annoying ability of breaking the spell card rule."

Reimu softly growls and bears her teeth, then the spirit nervously says "calm down, we'll get her, we'll get her!"

Reimu clams down, sighs, and then walks toward the lake behind the shrine.

"Where are you going?" asks Ran.

Reimu turns around with a smile and says "I'm going to call for help;" then continues her walk to the lake.

* * *

Sanae and Marisa walk out of the shrine and spot Ran and Mima drawing on the ground with sticks.

When they get close, the vixen looks at the blonde witch, smiles and says "we've got a plan."

Sanae looks around then asks "where is Reimu?"

Mima smiles and says "she's summoning the gods to come and help us."

Marisa studies the drawing that looks like many circles and arrows pointing a little to the left of the center of the circles. Ran then says "time to wake everyone up."

It is already late morning when they finally manage to wake up Yukari. She opens various gaps to specific locations: one for the Scarlet Devil Mansion, one for Eientei, one for Keine's school, one to the Sanzu River, one for the Dark Blowhole, one to the Moriya Shrine, another for the Kappa Village, another for the Tengu Village, and one for the Garden of the Sun.

Ran explains her plan loudly so that everyone; including the ones at the end of those gaps, can hear her clearly.

"Everyone put up their barriers?" asks Ran before beginning.

From the gaps all say yes, and the ones at the shrine all nod.

"Good" she finishes.

Agava watches them from a tree branch in the distance, but can't hear a thing, and although she can see Ran speaking, she can't read her lips.

She growls, mutters "curse my inability to learn lip-reading;" and then quickly leaves.

Inside the sound barrier Ran explains the plan. "Listen up, we need to corner Agava and make sure she can't escape anywhere. We need to start from the farthest corners of Gensokyo and trap her near the Misty Lake. There it will be easier so battle her and prevent her from escaping. Mystia, were you able to find Cirno?"

The cute bird girl shakes her head and shrugs then says "Rumia and I searched everywhere but we couldn't find her."

Ran bites her index finger saying "this could get a little rougher than I thought. Word is her powers work perfectly against Agava. We'll have to make due. Miss Shiki, Komachi, can we count on you!?"

From the gap Eiki answers "we both got the day off, so don't worry about us. We'll be there and make sure that shadow repents for all she's done!"

"Good. Scarlet?" says the shikigami.

From the gap Remilia says "you will find only the best here in the Scarlet Devil Mansion! You can count on it!"

Ran nods then asks "Yuka? You get all that?"

From the gap Yuka answers "me and my two little allies will make sure to do our part."

"I'm only doing this because I got nothing better to do" adds Medicine.

From the Moriya's gap Suwako shouts "we'll show her what happens when you mess with the gods and their homes!"

From Eientei's gap Reisen says "Eientei will do its best."

"Like always" adds Eirin.

From the underground Satori calmly says "she won't get away from us. We all want to get her back for kicking us out of our own homes."

From Keine's school loud cheers can be heard from the villagers while Mokou shouts "we'll do our part! ...Quiet down already!"

The kappa and the tengu all cheer loudly as well, then Nitori shouting "we'll try our latest invention on her. She won't really like it, but we really don't like her, so it's OK~!"

Ran smiles as the large group in the shrine also cheers, then she loudly says "alright everyone, spread out and corner her. If she fights back, call for immediate backup! Let's trap her like the rate she is and finish her!"

* * *

The shrine is now empty seeing as every single able body is scanning all of Gensokyo as they search for Agava.

She is spotted at the Bamboo Forest but runs away the moment Mokou and Kaguya give chase.

Meanwhile, Remilia and Flandre both wear long dark hoods to protect themselves from the sun's rays as they search for and spotting Agava close to the Garden of the Sun, however Yuka is already casing the vile fiend with Wriggle and Medicine by her side.

All of Gensokyo is actively hunting down the dark shadow woman, and even the land itself seems to be helping as every shadow the evil woman tries to use to hide; be it a tree, a rock, anything at all; and all those spots seemingly move on their own to reveal her.

Below the land, Yuugi and Suika chase after Agava for a long time until she vanishes from the Underground Cave's entrance. Even inside the cave the creatures there are searching for her in hopes to settle their score.

Back at the shrine, Reimu is deep in meditation while sitting close to the lake, however a large shadow breaks her concentration and she immediately flips out of the way and bears her gohei and charms.

"You've got a _lot_ of guts to... wait... no..."

Reimu drops her gohei and charms, then from the sky a large explosion catches Mystia's attention from the distance, and although she immediately goes to investigate she sees Agava flying away from the area and chases after her instead. Back at the lake Reimu is gone, and not even her gohei or charms are left behind.

Agava is now cornered by Mystia, Sakuya and Patchouli. She tries to fight them off but is quickly overwhelmed by the combination of the three.

She fires a massive black bullet to the ground in a desperate attempt, and escapes once more.

By now it is almost sunset and Agava reveals herself flying above the village angrily saying to herself "ARGH! What **_is_** it with all these fools!? If it's a battle they want, then a battle I will GIVE!"

The dark woman powers up as much as she can and purple colored lightning begins to shoot out of her body and down to the houses below. She then spreads her arms and legs and suddenly the barrier around Gensokyo shines red.

By now Agava is surrounded all around. The youkai and humans are all over the ground while the tengu cover the skies; most of them bearing weapons; and the kappa cover the area directly below, all with strange machines pointed at the fiend.

* * *

Shikieiki casually floats toward Agava but stops a few feet away and says "this is close enough. Listen Agava, we are here to put a stop to you once and for all. If you repent now and willingly give up I may consider lessening your punishment. Try to fight back and I'll personally make sure you pay for all you've done one-thousand fold."

The shadow woman starts laughing quietly, then progresses to cackle insanely, and then stops and says "you pathetic mongrels think you can take me!? It took the combined powers of three Yamas to stop me last time. What makes you think that **you**; that _any_ one of you has a chance against me!?"

Agava laughs loudly as she begins shooting massive dark energies all around her, causing many to spread out to safety. She tries to get away again however Shiki gets in her way and shoots various red sword beams at her, giving time to the others to regroup.

Mokou and Kaguya join Eiki and close in on Agava. The yama glares angrily at Agava and says "well, look at this; three immortals surrounding one black shadow. Does this bring back memories?"

Agava shouts and turns her hands into massive hammers while Mokou and Kaguya shoot her with their strongest bullets, but the evil woman swats the shots back at them and veers a few at the weak youkai, forcing Mokou and Kaguya to rush to them and cover them with their own bodies.

Shiki tries to get close again, but Agava turns her arms into swords and swings wildly, barely missing the yama by inches.

Komachi gets in the way and blocks the swords with her scythe, but then Eiki shouts "Komachi, get back!"

Just as the shinigami backs away the two sword arms glow red and the shadow fiend slashes the air and sends two large shockwaves toward Meiling and Komachi, but Youmu quickly intercepts them and cuts them to small pieces. Agava snarls furiously as her temper rises.

"Give up _now_; while you still can" says Shiki.

Agava screams to the air in rage and then says "you are all **_way_** over your heads! There is not _one_ amongst you that can even harm me!"

The yama answers "then why don't you try and kill us? Is it because you can't, or are you afraid?"

Agava summons a large barrage of mid-sized dark orbs all around herself, but the tengu all fly down fast and blow the bullets back while trying to strike Agava with their own weapons.

The shadow woman skillfully dodges their attack, and then the kappa fire many peculiar weapons at her: lasers, crystals, petals, seeds; but Agava discharges her own energy and blow all the bullets back down to the ground.

The force also blows Remilia's hood off. She thinks she is done for, but she realizes the sun was fake. "Flan, that sun is fake. It's our turn to have some fun now!"

Flandre pulls off her hood and sinisterly snarls "let's PLAY!"

* * *

Agava shoos at Remilia and Flandre fiercely, but the two vampires are merely toying with her because of their speed, and keep landing bullets on the woman.

Flandre taunts Agava while Remilia shoots, thus getting her attention so that the blonde vampire can get a cheap shot on the shadow fiend.

On and on their battle goes on and it looks like Agava is finished, but just then the shadow woman notices when one of her stray shots was heading toward Sakuya and observes how Remilia stops everything to protect her.

Agava grins and starts to shoot at Sakuya some more, laughing madly as she does and Remilia intercepts the shots by using her body as a shield to protect her human maid.

"My lady!" Sakuya panics and shoots countless daggers at the shadow, but she simply dodges them continues her barrage. Now Remilia is on the ground, too damaged to continue fighting for the moment.

"Onee-chan!" shouts Flandre as she heads to aid her sister.

Okuu, Orin and Koishi start attacking Agava to cover for the vampire; Koishi using heart-shaped danmaku bullets, while Orin shot countless blue danmaku orbs, and Okuu shoots massive blasts.

Agava grins and reverts to shadow form so Okuu's danmaku goes through her and heads toward the village.

Eirin, Reisen, Mokou and Kaguya blast the giant bullets away, but there are too many for them so Youmu steps in alongside Yuyuko and starts cutting the shots while the ghost princess helps blast many other shots away.

Yukari joins in just in time and places a barrier around them, successfully blocking Okuu's shots.

Agava starts to laugh, but stops abruptly as Reimu slowly flies towards the battle. All the present people there start cheering for her the moment she comes into view.

She doesn't say a word and just smiles as she faces Agava. "Cocky little bitch, aren't you?" snarls the dark woman.

The shrine maiden simply continues to smile and pulls out her charms. Agava backs away, but then lunges at Reimu, who dodges her and fires her charms, hitting the shadow on the stomach.

Agava turns around and fires massive energy blasts in a straight like pattern, however Reimu easily dodges these then hits her opponent with another barrage of needles and charms.

Reimu continues to smile only and not speak at all, and Marisa worries, gets closer, and shouts "Reimu, are you alright!?"

The shrine maiden look at her friend and Agava takes the chance, turns her arm into 4 large spikes, then she rapidly lunges toward Marisa, but Reimu rapidly gets in her way and gets impaled on her chest.

Her smile vanishes and is replaced by a blank stare in her eyes, and slowly her eyes close on their own.

All around gasp and scream in terror while Marisa's eyes open widely and tears immediately fall from them as she calls out to Reimu as loud as she can, but the shrine maiden's eyes remain close, even though she's smiling once more.

Remilia can't believe her eyes. Yukari can't contain her own tears of rage, and everyone else is either in shock or crying.

Agava stares at the limp, smiling shrine maiden stuck in her spikes and casually says "let's get rid of the garbage now."

She flings her blood-covered spiked arm and flicks Reimu's body off and sends it straight to the Misty Lake, where it falls in the water and sinks like a rock.

Remilia just misses catching Reimu and shouts her name in frustration, and then Sakuya holds her mistress as tightly as she can to prevent her from getting inside the lake to get Reimu out of the water.

* * *

Agava casually laughs and says "finally the only real threat to me is gone." She notices something odd and asks herself "what's this?"

The barrier at Hakurei shrine's large red gates begins to crumble into pieces right before everyone's eyes, and the first tear that forms creates a powerful vacuum; as if it's trying to suck out all of Gensokyo.

Agava opens her eyes widely as she laughs, then says "yes, YES; the blasted barrier is _DESTROYED_! It was true after all! I confused the shrine maidens before, that's why it didn't open!"

The vile woman giggles and casually says "I'm so out of here. Look out world, here comes _death _and_ suffering_!"

Just as she was about to rush to the collapsing gate, the scowling Marisa; with her face full of tears and her eyes red and puffy; gets on her way and points her Hakkero straight at the shadow.

Agava is about to shoot, but then she realizes everyone around her is staring hatefully at her. Spell cards all around her are being activated by many heart-broken youkai and humans.

With her voice cracking as she chocks back sobs, the blonde ordinary witch says "you may have destroyed our precious paradise, but now, at the end of it, we will destroy you. We will make you _suffer!_"

Above them is Shikieiki, who covers her mouth with her Rod as she glowers at Agava with frightening widened eyes.

Her blue eyes glow light-aqua and the atmosphere around her seems to bend on its own. She slowly raises her spell card and says "you! are going! to _REPENT BY FORCE_!"

Remilia flies close and bites on her lower lip as hard as she can to make herself bleed out of anger while she pulls out a spell card and activates it.

The kappa, the tengu, a few villagers, the Scarlets, Eientei, the Moriyas, the underground dwellers, the Komeiji, the Youkai Forest, the Garden of the Sun, the small youkai, the fairies; every single soul that surrounds Agava, all either activate spell cards or start to concentrate their energies into one single shot, all either calling out for Reimu or lamenting the loss of their paradise.

Just before all the spells go off, Yukari, Shiki and Marisa float side by side, and then the yama says "go to hell!"

At the same time every single spell card and concentrated bullet flies straight at Agava, who screams loudly in pain as the shots rapidly reach her body.

The sudden collapse of so many bullets and spells illuminate the sky, making it shine brighter than the sun.

The dark woman screams bloody death as the incessant barrage of bullets continues, and then just like that it all stops.

After it is done and everyone seems to recover from a rage trance, they all look around in awe and disbelief of what's been done as the light vanishes.

* * *

Agava keeps floating in mid air as she struggles to keep herself afloat, and then Yukari, Marisa and Shiki look in great awe and disbelief when the dark woman loudly shouts "You see! Not even your combined _power_ is enough to beat me! I am the most powerful being **_EVER_**!"

From the Misty Lake, a childish voice shouts "no! _I_ am the strongest in _ALL GENSOKYO_!"

She appears from under the trees, flying at speeds that match Aya's and leaving an icy blue trail behind as she headed for Agava.

Just as she reaches her target, Cirno loudly declares "_PERFECT FREEZE~!_"

Cirno's spell card shines light blue and one single large ball of ice heads straight to Agava, who isn't able to move in time and gets frozen up to her neck instantly, and then she fall to the ground hard.

She falls so hard on the dirt road leading to the shrine, that the ice shatters and damages her body heavily, then after following her all the way down Cirno fires more ice bullets at her, freezing the vile shadow woman to her neck a second time.

The little ice fairy places her foot on the ice and points her finger at Agava's face while she declares "I am the strongest, and don't you forget it!"

The vile woman is agonizing in pain can con only mumble "I... was so close."

From behind a tree a very familiar voice brings a smile and amazement to all around as she says "well hi there, welcome to Gensokyo, a true paradise. I am Reimu Hakurei, your local shrine maiden here to welcome you to this beautiful land."

Reimu walks out of the trees, smiling widely as she heads toward Agava. Behind her are the three mischievous fairies: Star Sapphire, Luna Child and Sunny Milk, and behind the three fairies are Ail with a bandaged left arm, and Kyo looking cocky; as though he's done something of notice.

Everyone is in complete shock; particularly Remilia, who cries softly for Reimu. Agava's spell wears off and the night finally comes.

The moon is almost full and is shining down brightly, giving perfect lighting for all humans and youkai to see.

Reimu approaches the frozen Agava just as Cirno backs away, turns around and sweetly says "Ail, if you please!"

The boy fires a focused blast at the dark woman and breaks the top of the ice, exposing her chest.

The shrine maiden giggles then says "on behalf of all Gensokyo I welcome you and hope you'll enjoy living here for the rest of your miserable life. As a welcoming gift, I have this here made _just_ for you."

Reimu places a multi-colored charm on Agava's chest. The charm is quickly absorbed and as it is being absorbed the shrine maiden says "with this you will have no choice but to follow the laws here. You'll never again be able to use anymore spells without a spell card, and as an added bonus your powers will diminish by 98 percent. Lucky you! Now you're going to be a child again!"

Just like that Agava's body shrinks and her voice pitches as she starts to cry out "no... My powers! What have you done to me!?"

Afterwards Reimu continues saying "and from now on, even if by some disgrace the barrier is destroyed, you'll NEVER be able to leave this wonderfully large area that is Gensokyo. Isn't that wonderful?"

The girl smiles at the shadow girl whose body gets small enough to get out of the ice on her own.

"This isn't fair" shouts Agava in a most childish tone.

Reimu leans down, rubs her head and says "well, if you would have just given up I'd have only cut 90 percent of your powers, but~ you decided to go down the hard way."

The second she's done speaking, Marisa and Yukari lunge at Reimu and give her a nice big hug while crying and thanking the gods and spirits for the maiden's safe return.

Remilia follows in afterward, as well as the rest of Reimu's friends. All the others head back home, cheering and celebrating the victory over the now not-so-terrifying Agava.

* * *

At the Human Village, the Youkai Mountain, and the Hakurei Shrine there is a big celebration taking place.

Agava has been soundly defeated and stripped of her powers thanks to the combined efforts of all present.

At said shrine everyone has expressed their relief for Ail, Kyo and Reimu, and then Sanae, who sits next to Ail; who happens to be on Yuyuko's; lap, asks "how is it that you guys are alive!? Nobody, not even Reimu could sense your presence. And that Agava was using your powers just like that!"

The boy thinks carefully for a bit and says "well, it's a long story. You see, after Reimu told me to leave I went looking for Kyo, but instead I found those three fairies. I asked them to help me and in exchanged I promised never to punish them for doing their pranks as long as they're not on me or Sanae. So they followed me to get Kyo when we were ambushed by that Agava. As luck would have it Kyo was able to use his energy to grab on to the walls just before we touched the spikes, and then little Luna made it sound like we were impaled. Shortly after that, I was able to open a gap and placed fake dolls with our clothes on the spikes, all before that vile woman came to check on us."

He takes a few breaths and continues "as for how she was using our powers, it was all because of the little red spirit. It had copied most of my own abilities and used my memories to learn about Kyo's own. In the end, that's why she lost them right after Reimu exorcised the spirit."

Reimu stop him and says "hey, wait a minute. How come that the piece of your shirt we got was covered in blood?"

Feeling a bit embarrassed Ail blushes and says "actually, err... when I placed the dolls I cut my left arm with one of the spikes. It added realism though; wouldn't you agree?"

Reimu, Marisa and Kanako all look at Ail with surprise, and then Sanae grabs his arm and checks it, then Yuyuko pats him on the head and happily says "mistakes happen, right?"

While Marisa and Kanako continue drinking, Reimu comments "hey, wait... I haven't seen Lily White lately either. Was she part of your plan?"

Ail shrugs and says "she kept following me everywhere I was, even when Sunny and Luna used their powers she spotted me. She almost gave us away on various occasions."

From outside Mystia asks in song "and why~ were you hiding Cirno~?"

The mentioned ice fairy has fallen asleep alongside the three fairies; apparently after eating so much, and while looking at them Ail thinks again for a bit before he says "well, I wanted to give her a good boost of power before sending her to freeze Agava."

Reimu then says "that's right. The Reimu doll was Ail's idea as well. What you thought was blood, was actually red ink, enhanced by Sunny's powers. That fairy is quite handy."

Ail then says with a smile "I was boosting hers and Luna's powers so it seemed that Reimu had been killed and the barrier was breaking apart. Actually, the main idea was to distract Agava with the Reimu doll long enough for Cirno to get ready."

Aya comes by and asks "what about that ridiculous speed of hers? She was flying as fast as me!"

Ail chuckles and says "Kyo used a tree branch as a slingshot and sent her through a gap I made. I wanted to make it look as though she came from the Misty Lake so that Agava would be distracted while Reimu; that is the _REAL_ Reimu could attack her from the back. But now that I think about it, that fake death really did help more than my initial plan would have. If you guys had not weakened her so much it would have taken a lot more power just to freeze her. "

Ail realizes that from inside and outside, everyone has been listening to his story. He feels a little awkward for being the center of attention, but he just smiles as Reisen says "sneaky little human, huh? Hey Tewi, be careful, he might even prank _you_."

Tewi raises her fist and flips her finger while saying "just let him try!"

Ail just scratches his head and sweats.

* * *

Later that night, after the celebrations wind down, almost everyone has left and are headed back home.

Only Sanae, Suwako, Kanako, Marisa, Alice, Cirno and the still sleeping fairy trio remain at the shrine.

Kyo, Mima, Suika and Yuugi have headed to town to drink some more over there, and as a result the shrine is quiet, so Ail decides to go to the back of the shrine and look at the moon on the clean skies, and feel the cool breeze of the night.

Both Sanae and Reimu go out to him, and the Hakurei Maiden asks "what are you thinking now?"

Ail keeps staring at the moon and bluntly asks "now that everything is back to normal, can I stay here?"

Reimu looks at the boy with a bit surprised as she asks "why do you ask this so suddenly?"

He looks at the shrine maiden and says "I went back to my house... to get some extra clothes for those decoys. Even if it was for just one minute, I felt so far away from home; and the fact that my powers diminished quite a bit the second I stepped one foot out there didn't help. I love Gensokyo too much. Reimu, can please I stay?"

The girl thinks for a bit and feels a bit of pressure when she notices Sanae looking at her with expectation, and then Reimu sighs and says "ever since you guys came here there's been nothing but trouble after trouble with you; incident after incident with a few breaks in between, but just not enough."

Sanae looks down to hide her sad expression, but then Reimu looks at Ail and smiles, and then says "however, you helped me quite a lot during them, and even now with that Agava, but still, you're asking the wrong person permission to stay here."

Ail smiles and says "I already asked my heart and it definitely wants to stay here in Gensokyo, so I guess that means I'll be staying."

Sanae quietly smiles and celebrates inside of her mind; Ail is staying in Gensokyo, and for some reason that gives her quite a lot of joy.

The boy sighs and smiles, then calmly says "I may not look it, but inside my heart, I am jumping for joy and screaming my head off."

Reimu calmly says "then it's all good, isn't it? What about Kyo?"

Kyo and Mima arrive from the village at that very moment; both a little drunk; and then the muscled boy says "I need to go back outside and sort some things out. I can't say I'm never coming back though. It's like Ail says; you never know what can happen, right?"

Reimu yawns and says "well, I'm just glad we didn't have to force you out. I'm also very glad you guys are alive. ...I'm tired. Let's go to sleep now."

All says "yeah. It was a very long day after all." They all head inside afterward.

* * *

At the crack of dawn Ail stands at the front of the shrine looking on as the sun rises. Mima floats by, and then the boy asks "you can't sleep either?"

Mima smiles and says "It's not like I'm overly excited like some foolish human here. I just wanted to tell you something."

Ail laughs and says "I know it was you who helped me unleash those spell cards and powers before. I mean think about it, I started hearing that voice inside my head after I released you from that room, then when you're unconscious I can't hear it."

Mima grins and says "you know, your intuition could rival Reimu's."

Ail then says "she's still far beyond my level. ...You know, when I heard you talking to me in my mind I thought I was talking to an angel. I never would have thought that 'angel' was actually an evil spirit."

Mima punches Ail on the head, giggles and says "watch what you say around here. Some might take it as an offense."

She then wraps her arm around his neck playfully and asks "was it you who opened that door the second time?"

Ail keeps quiet for a bit and says "maybe. Why do you ask?"

Mima give him a kiss on his cheek and says "thank you... I was really worried about Reimu and my Marisa. Thanks for getting me out of there again."

Ail smiles while blushing and says "anytime."

* * *

Kyo wakes up just after sunrise. The fairies and the Moriyas are already gone, and Marisa and Alice are eating breakfast by the table, while Reimu and Ail are at the porch quietly drinking tea.

Mima is outside, happily twirling her staff around and pointing it at random areas shouting "HA~!" every time she does.

Kaizo walks over to the porch and sits besides Reimu, and then the shrine maiden pulls out a plate with a rice ball and says "here, eat. I was able to save this from those two at the table."

He looks back inside and Marisa immediately raises her head to look at the ceiling while Alice blushes and stares down at her tea.

Kyo smiles and says "thanks. Don't mind if I do;" and then laughs hard.

While he eats he says "you know, I'll admit that at first I felt really lost in here, but now this place feels just like home too."

Reimu and Ail both stare at him curiously as Kyo continues "I'll just admit here and now that I have fallen in love with Gensokyo, but... I need to return home; to the outside world. There are still many things left for me to do out there. Maybe someday I will come back, so let's not say 'goodbye'. Let's just say 'until next time', alright?"

Reimu smiles and Ail says "wouldn't have it any other way, my friend."

The time has come and Kyo is ready to go home. Ail smiles, but he can't deny the feeling of sadness in his heart. Suika has come to say farewell as well, and even though she's buzzed, she seems a little sad as well.

Ail opens up a gap and when Kyo looks into it he sees his old home: his father's car still parked there at the front of the house and looking quite clean, the window to his room where are his belongings are waiting for him, and one of his mother's ornaments on the outside walls.

Kyo smiles widely, then turns around and says "well guys; Suika, Mima, Reimu, Marisa, Alice... and Ail; take care of yourselves alright?"

Suika quietly walks to Kyo and lightly hugs him and says "I'll drink twice tonight; for the both of us!"

Kyo hugs her back and then lets her go as Mima, who is crying twin waterfall, just lunges to him and hugs him while crying "I'll miss you so much, you hunk!"

He is surprised at first, but then he hugs her back and says "I'll miss you too as well; all of you."

Reimu shakes his hand and says "until next time, take good care of yourself too."

Alice gets closer and hesitantly says "you sure are unique humans... err... please take care."

Marisa gets close to Kyo with a serious look on her face, then he looks back at her seriously, and then they start banging their hands in a style that looks like some kind of dance ritual, and that ends when bang their elbow together.

After that Marisa says "bring me a souvenir when you come back, dude!"

As Marisa steps away, Reimu and Alice look at her puzzled, and then she says "what? It's just a hand-shake, ze."

Now it's Ail's turn. They look at each other for a bit and Ail then says "well my friend, ever since I met you we've been inseparable, but... the time has come we parted ways; for a while."

Kyo says "and I won't feel guilty either. You are surrounded by awesome friends here, and I know you will look out for each other. Now don't you worry about me bud, you know I can take care of myself anywhere I go."

Ail smiles and then both hug. Reimu and the others sniffle while Mima continues to bawl, now accompanied by Suika as well. Ail and Kyo both open their eyes very suddenly and then back off while Anilan asks "did we just man-hug?"

Kyo scratches the back of his head while Ail looks down feeling a bit awkward, all while Reimu, Marisa and Alice laugh their heads off.

The muscled boy heads to the gap and just before he enters Ail says "wait, I need to ask you a favor."

He hands Kyo a letter, then said boy smiles and says "I'll get them this letter as soon as I can." He then enters the gap without looking back while Ail sheds a tear as his long-time friend leaves, and then the gap closes.

Reimu pats him on the head, and then Mima hugs him, still bawling and saying "cry with me, come oooooonnn! WAAAH~!"

Ail sighs and forces a pitiable smile while he pats the back of her head and says "there, there."

* * *

Kyo hesitate for a moment and paces in front of his own house, then slowly walks toward his home.

He knocks on the door and when it opens his mother gasps when she sees him waving at her, and then she excitedly shouts "K-KYO!?" The boy softly replies "hehe, I'm back mom."

His mother excitedly shouts "everyone, Kaizo is back" and then Kyo complains "_mo-Om_, don't CALL me that; it's KYO!"

As if not listening she continues "Kaizo, Kaizo is back" while hugging him and rubbing her face against her son's.

Back at Gensokyo, in front of the donation box at the Hakurei Shrine, Ail says "well, it's time I got to work. Reimu, is it ok if I stay at the shrine a few more days while I finish my house?"

The shrine maiden smiles and nods, then the boy says "I decided I want to live at the Forest of Magic. I even found a good spot too."

Reimu asks "the Forest? But why not the village?"

He smiles and says "if I do that I won't have to fly that much to reach the shrine."

The shrine maiden places her hand on her forehead while shaking her head, then says "well, just be careful out there, alright?"

Ail smiles and says "hey, it's me! What could possibly go wrong?"

Reimu counts with her fingers as she says "forest fire, thunder storm, getting lost, getting robbed, getting robbed by Marisa, a youkai attack-..."

Ail's face turns pale, and then he exclaims "alright, I get it; I'll be careful, heheh!"

Reimu chuckles lightly, and then asks "by the way, what was that you just gave to Kyo?"

The boy looks at her and says "a letter for my family, to let them know that I am well and surrounded by the most wonderful of friends."

Reimu, Marisa, Alice and Suika smile, however when Mima tries to smile she begins to cry again and says "that's just so beautiful!"

Ail stares curiously at her and asks Reimu "is she really an evil spirit?"

As for his house, Ail has found a small clearing at the Forest of Magic that is close to Rinnosuke's shop, and there he uses his barriers as support for building his house from scratch. It takes him five days thanks to the received from so many friends. Youmu, Meiling and even Mima, along with many others who claim were just "passing by".

On one of those days Marisa and Reimu arrived to help by directing the construction, which caused irritation to the others.

After the house is done Ail enters it, quickly followed by Youmu and Meiling; the former studies the house and asks "don't you think it's a little big for just you?"

The boy smiles peacefully and says "I think it's perfect."

Meiling smiles as well and says "well then I guess we'll have to do a house-warming party now."

Orin pops her head from out of nowhere and shouts "PARTYYY~!"

That night the Forest of Magic is the sight of a tremendous party... and of course Ail ends up with the cleanup afterward in the morning, and as he sweeps around his house he says "now I see why Reimu hates the parties at her shrine."

He sighs while looking at his roof and contemplates the missing chunk blasted off by one of Suwako's and Suika's combined bullets.

* * *

Three months pass and everything is back to being peaceful in Gensokyo, and yet Reimu is pacing back and forth at the front of the shrine while muttering incoherently. "Ugh, what's taking him so long?!"

From the porch of the shrine Marisa, who is calmly drinking tea and eating cookies, casually says "calm down Reddie; this is Ail we're talking about, not Yukari!"

Reimu breathes in deeply, then exhales and calmly says "you're right, we'll just have to wait calmly."

At that very moment a blue gap opens by the shrine's gates and Reimu and Marisa run there to see Ail, who pops out of the gap shouting "HI~!"

Reimu expectantly asks "so!? Did you find them!?"

The boy expands the gap and two girls walk out while looking around with amazement as they smile.

He smiles at Reimu and says "found them just where you told them to wait."

After she nods to acknowledge him, Reimu bows her head slightly and says "welcome to Gensokyo Miss Maribel Han and Miss Renko Usami."

And so a new story begins in Gensokyo, though this story may be best told at another time~...

* * *

Inside the gap between Gensokyo's Barriers, Yukari floats around while complaining about working. "Aww~ this is why I made Ran my shikigami. I don't like doing this; it's so boring."

She looks around and says "bah, the barrier's fine."

She then smiles widely and says "well since everything's fine I'll just go back and sleep some... eh? What's this?"

Yukari slowly floats closer to a very small red and black gap that's swirling like a maelstrom in a calm sea of light, and laughs a bit before closing it and saying "no wonder Gensokyo got so chaotic. Tee-hee; seems I somehow placed a gap between Gensokyo's reality and its chaos."

Yukari looks at you with those glimmering purple eyes of hers, smiles and says "now you be a good little soul and not say anything to anyone, alright?"

You feel yourself nod while trembling while she continues to stare into your eyes.

She smiles darkly and softly says "good, good. You wouldn't want to be in an 'accident' right?"

You lightly shake your head left and right then Yukari blows you a kiss and says "that's a good little soul."

She then opens a gap back to her home and closes it behind her, leaving you stuck in the dimension between Gensokyo's barrier; floating between two plates of light that seem to glow faint gold.

Lucky for you Ail opens up one of his gaps and gets you out. He asks you what happened to you, but you black out from the excitement and exhaustion.

* * *

The end...?

Characters and scenario belong to ZUN -Team Shanghai Alice-

Kyo and Ail were created by Willie G.R.

JUN 7 2009

Written by

Willie G.R.

**-Edited on JUL 17 2013 by Willie G.R.-**


	16. EXTRA

It's been one week since Ail brought Maribel and Renko into Gensokyo.

Renko has become fast friends with Akyuu, Keine, Reisen and Eirin, and Reimu has had her meet Patchouli as well, however that ended in terrible dispute over different logics.

Maribel has also made lots of friends and has found Marisa to be an interesting human, while Renko sees the witch as: 'just a show-off'.

Maribel tends to hang around Reimu and Ail most of the time, since those two have trouble falling on their laps constantly. Even the slightest incident tends to fall on their laps, and this gets Maribel so excited she always insists on accompanying them.

Ail and Rinnosuke have become really close friends, especially since she shopkeeper keeps asking Ail about outside world items he happens to find, added to the fact that they both end up playing video games every time they can.

Maribel, Reimu and Marisa have joined in their games as well, and it is safe to say the score-board on the wall says it all: "Girls 156, Boys 1."

Reimu looks at you angrily and says "hey, that loss was my FIRST game against Ail!"

Agava, the once powerful shadow demon is now a low level youkai. She looks like a 10 year old girl, her hair is lose, it no longer slithers like snakes and it reaches only to her mid-back, and her eyes no longer glow in the dark.

She's as tall as Rumia now yet she keeps wearing the same tight clothing as before. She also hangs around Rumia most of the time, challenging her to danmaku battles on a daily basis and losing miserably.

"Come on" insists Agava. "Fight me! I'll BEAT you this time!"

Rumia looks at Agava with a smile on her face and her arms extended to her sides, and asks "is that so~? Fine, let's battle."

Agava laughs excitedly and says "ha-haa! Now you'll suffer at my hands;" she pulls out her only spell card and from her shirt, and declares "Shadow Morph!"

She turns into a shadow and slithers around, shooting small danmaku orbs at Rumia, who simply smiles as the little shadow wraps herself around her, laughing as the orbs are about to impact; however Rumia grabs her wriggling tail and bites it hard, making her scream and wriggle around for freedom, and after 15 seconds the spell card times out and Rumia shouts "I win again!"

Agava turns back into a youkai and rubs and huffs on her feet, and then shouts "you CHEATED!"

Rumia simply replies a very bubbly "is that so~?"

* * *

On a hot sunny summer morning Ail visits the Hakurei Shrine, donates some money and prays after he does while Reimu, like always, watches from a corner while her eyes shine brightly.

The boy is about to leave when he says "I know you're there. Come out!"

For a second the shrine maiden thinks he was talking to her, but then Mima pops her head from behind the shrine's gate and complains. "Aww, you always do that! Why won't you let me scare you at least once?"

Ail sighs then says "if you're so bored why don't you help Reimu with the chores for a bit?"

Mima puffs and says "that's boring!"

Ail laughs, and then Mima asks "hey, um, any word from the hunk?"

He forces a smile and sounding a bit sad he says "no. That means everything is fine, I am sure."

The evil spirit smiles and says "I guess you're right."

Just then Reimu reveals herself with a broom at hand, making it look as if she has just casually come out of the living quarters, and sounding surprised she exclaims "oh hi Ail, how are you? Did you fix your roof at last?"

The boy gets annoyed by the question, but hides it well by forcing a convincing smile while casually saying "yeah; it's as good as new. Nobody could ever tell it was destroyed by a couple of small drunks."

Reimu looks at the sky and says "you know, it was around this time when you and Kyo came to Gensokyo, remember?"

Ail smiles and closes his eyes, remembering how he and Kyo fell into Yukari's gap; which at the time, they called a portal; and how they first met Reimu and Marisa and all their friends from Gensokyo.

"Yeah" says Ail after the nostalgia sinks in. "I can't believe it's already been so long. One of the best things that ever happened to me, I can safely admit."

Maribel smiles brightly as she exits the living quarters, then after seeing the visitor, shrine maiden and spirit, she happily says "Mister Ail, Miss Mima, and Miss Reimu. Good morning."

Renko rushes out from behind the blonde and exclaims "morning to all!"

Ail, Reimu and Mima reply "**good morning**" at the same time then Ail asks "off to the village already?"

Renko excitedly says "yeah, I promised Miss Keine I'd be there early, so come on Mary!"

She then pulls her friend's arm and drags her to the shrine stairs while Maribel complains by saying "but we haven't had breakfast yet. And call me Maribel, please!"

Just like that they both disappear after going down enough stairs as they head to the Human Village.

* * *

Later that day Reimu, Marisa and Ail sit at the porch at the back of the shrine, drinking tea and eating small cookies, while Mima is in the hot springs loudly saying "ahh, this is so relaxing!"

Reimu drinks from her tea cup and casually says "today is really peaceful."

Marisa nods and says "ya. So quiet too, ze."

Ail then adds "peaceful days like this one are good once in a while."

All three nod at the same time, when one of Yukari's gaps open in front of them and surprises them all.

Just as Yukari pops her head out Reimu lazily asks "what do you want?"

Yukari looks at Reimu and asks "is that any way to greet a guest? Oh well, I came here looking for him this time." She points at Ail with an accusing finger.

The boy politely asks "what is it, lady Yukari?"

The blonde woman keeps quiet and pulls out another woman from inside the gap who says "now you didn't think I'd let you go off like that with just one single little letter, did you?"

Ail opens his eyes widely. The woman has maroon eyes and short brown hair she makes into a bun.

She wears a plaid green dress and a white apron with a large pocket on the front on top of said dress. She has a whimsical expression on her face as she smiles, reminding Marisa and Reimu of someone.

Ail gets up and hurries to the woman, gives her a big hug, then the woman gives him a kiss on the cheek, and then Ail says to the confused Reimu and Marisa "Miss Reimu, Miss Marisa, Miss Mima..." Mima is now sitting where Ail was just a second ago.

The boy takes a deep breath and proudly says "this is Ayalina Leuch Higani... my mother!"

Reimu springs up with surprise and says "oh! Sorry about that. Hello Miss Ayalina!"

Ail then says "mom, these are my friends, Reimu Hakurei, Marisa Kirisame, and..."

"Mima?" finishes Ayalina.

The boy looks quite surprised and asks "do you... know each other?"

* * *

Inside the shrine, Reimu prepares tea for Ail's mother, who explains quite a bit. "Oh yes, Mima and I go back a bit."

Mima is looking so confused that her face looks as though it's locked in thinking mode.

Ayalina continues "my name was... Well, I can't remember it now, but when I lived here in Gensokyo before, I used to have another name."

Ail opens his eyes widely and asks "you lived here; In Gensokyo? But then, what happened?"

"I fell in love" she says as-a-matter-of-factly before continuing. "I went looking for something in the outside world, and then I met your father. I was impressed by him because-... ah, but that's another story. You know, I used to be a really good flier. I wonder if I still got it."

Suddenly Ayalina lifts up into the air and flies outside the shrine, going in circles and twirling around, enjoying herself so much she starts to laugh.

After flying for a bit and leaving Ail awestruck, she comes back down and says "yup, I still got it."

Ayalina stares at Reimu and says "so you're this generation's Hakurei maiden, right? Hmm..."

She inspects the shrine maiden, who feels quite uncomfortable, then the woman, with a whimsical smile and tone says "you're so thin, darling. You need to eat more."

Marisa covers her mouth when trying to hide her laughter, but it's too late. Reimu has noticed and retaliation will eventually come.

Mima is still recalibrating her brain when Ayalina says "now I know why Mima can't remember me. She tried to destroy my home and made us run away. So we never actually met."

Mima snaps out of it and sweats while saying "err... sorry about that... heh heh heh."

Ayalina just keeps smiling whimsically at Mima while Marisa signals Reimu to get closer and whispers "hey, Reimu. Doesn't she look rather familiar?"

Reimu discretely stares at her for a few seconds, and just then Ayalina pulls out a fan from her apron's pocket and covers her whimsical smile, and then Reimu bluntly says "she looks just like Yuyuko!"

Yukari grins mischievously and says "but you'll notice three differences. One, she sounds older than Yuyuko, two, she's not dead, and three..."

Yukari opens a gap to Yuyuko's bedroom where the princess is sleeping and dreaming about dragon cuisine.

Ayalina sits next to Ail and pulls him close, then starts playing with his hair. The boy looks like he's embarrassed to no ends.

She then says "you'll be glad to know Kyo is doing fine. He's become a bounty hunter, and met a girl. She's quite a cutie too, although a bit cold."

Ail keeps trying to escape his mother's grasp when Ayalina, in some sort of dreamy state, says "if my friend Yukari hadn't found me I could have never come visit you. I'm so lucky."

* * *

After freeing himself from his mother and presenting Sanae; who arrives to the shrine to deliver some ceremonial sake from her shrine; Ail asks "but mom, why didn't you ever tell me anything about Gensokyo before?"

Ayalina's eyes become distant as she smiles and says "at first I didn't think anyone would believe me, but then I guess I just forgot."

Reimu and Marisa both think at the same time "_just like_ **_Yuyuko!_**"

The woman continues "I think I remember something else now... I am... a flower youkai. Yes... there was someone else too; another flower youkai that was very dangerous to be around, but a pleasure to look at."

Ayalina looks around and says "you know, when those two girls told me you were here in Gensokyo, I knew you weren't coming back home. This place is just so wonderful; but my life on the outside is just as beautiful, so I'm going back later. Oh and before I do; Miss Sanae, please look after Ail while I'm gone. He can be a bit hard-headed, and you look like you're good at dealing with that kind of thing."

She then looks at Reimu and adds "in a non-violent way."

Sanae blushes and looks down to the ground, and Ail also blushes and looks out the windows. Ayalina giggles after noticing their reaction, gets up as soon as Yukari prepares to open her gap, when she suddenly says "wait... Kyo told me something VERY interesting when we talked. He said a blue-haired vampire attacked you a lot when you first met her; said she loves your blood."

Ail quietly nods and says "but its ok. We're friends now."

Ayalina looks at Yukari and smiles, and then the blonde smiles back and opens a gap.

* * *

"Sakuya; SAKUYAAAAAAA! Save meeeee!"

The fearsome Remilia Scarlet screams for her maid's aid while she runs in fear as various explosions set off all around her. "Saaakuuuyaaaaaa!"

Ayalina flies behind her and cackles wildly before saying "so you tried to kill my son? Not just once, but twice? You naughty child!"

The blue-haired vampire cries out loud "I'm sorry, I didn't know he was _your_ son, I swear on Vlad!"

Various more explosions set off around her when Ayalina unleashes more hellish bullets in the shape of beautiful petals.

Sakuya gets in front of the seemingly sweet woman who asks "are you Miss Sakuya? My, what lovely complexion you have. I'm a little envious."

The chief maid blushes and says "I'm sorry, but I must protect my Mistress from any attacker."

Sakuya stops time, and quickly realizes Ayalina was unaffected. "W-wah?"

Ails' mother cackles manically and says "you'll have to try something else darling. Those tricks don't work on me~, BWHAHAHAHA! Ahem; experience you know."

Once more Remilia finds herself crying and running away from the cackling mom while shouting "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, waah~!"

From outside the mansion Ail, Sanae, Reimu and Marisa wonder if one of them should go in there while staring at the red building from a safe distance.

The Hakurei Maiden stares at the young boy and asks "aren't you going in there? She's your mother."

Ail looks back and says "I'm not brave enough. Besides, you're the Shrine Maiden of Paradise here; this falls on your lap and jurisdiction."

Reimu looks up at the sky while resting her head on her hands and says "but she's _your_ mother, not mine. Still, it seems Remilia knows her well too."

The boy stares at the mansion again and replies "it appears that's the case. Anyway, she's having too much fun; and I'm just not brave enough to stop her."

Mima rushes to them from the skies; almost crashing with Marisa; and says "you guys! Mystia just told me Renko, Maribel and Keine went to the Garden of the Sun and now Yuka is chasing after them. They need help!"

Reimu smiles at Ail and says "see, now _that_ is a job for the Hakurei Shrine Maiden. See ya~!" She waves her fingers as she takes to the air.

Marisa covers her eyes with her hat as she takes off after her red and white friend, and says "sorry Ail but I'm her backup. Good luck to you, ze!"

Ail sighs loudly and says "well she's right. That's my mother, so I better go in there and try to persuade her, or something."

Sanae places her hand on his shoulder to show her support and says "don't fear, I'll be here to help you."

The boy smiles and says "alrighty then. Hmm, I somehow feel more confident with you staying with me."

And so they walk inside the mansion while Mima stays outside and listens to the mess in the comfort of safety.

She hears Flandre shouting "GRANDMA~" and Ayalina replying "oh my, little Flandre. You're still a little cutie, aren't you? You're going to grow into a _lovely_ vampire someday!"

Flandre giggles then Ail shouts "mom, could you leave Remilia alone?"

His mother then says "aww, but I'm having so much fun! Can't I chase her for another hour or two?"

Flandre then shouts "BIG BROTHER~!"

Ail abruptly screams "Flan wai- augh;" and then Sanae says "oh dear; his spine broke again."

A loud snap is heard, Ayalina starts laughing like a mad-woman again, and then the explosions continue while Remilia screams "somebody stop heeeeerrrrr!"

Ail breathes hard to recover himself, then shouts "Sakuya, get some dumplings!"

The maid shouts back "already on it!"

Ayalina suddenly moans contently and says "mmm, something smells really tasty, and I am sooooo hungry~!"

Meiling cries "ow, ow~ waah-wait! I'm not food! Let me go! _Let me go!_"

Remilia angrily shouts "that's IT; I want you all _OUT OF HERE, NOW_!"

Ayalina then says "hey, don't talk to him like that."

The seemingly brave vampire cries "wah~ just go already~!"

Mima shrugs and says "not my problem..." then slowly floats away; heading back to the Hakurei Shrine when she's suddenly frozen, falls down, and then Cirno shouts "I am the strongest ever!"

* * *

Misplaced Sukima End...

Characters and scenario belong to ZUN -Team Shanghai Alice-

Ail, Kyo, Ayalina, Agava and the "Shadow Morph" spell card were created by Willie G.R. (any similarities are strictly coincidental).

JUN 8 2009

Written by

Willie G.R.

**-Edited on JUL 18 2013 by Willie G.R.-**


End file.
